disneyochem

I always pack insect repellent wipes. Sometimes I use them, sometimes not. This past summer, I used them on a couple of excursions—rainforest bike ride in Skagway, bear viewing tour in ISP, and hiking in Mendenhall Glacier National Park. Wipes don’t take up much room so I’d rather be safe than sorry!

I wouldn’t buy a tram ticket until you know what the weather is like. You can purchase those tickets the day of. It’s a great excursion but better when you have the opportunity to see the incredible view! Lots of hiking up at the top as well. There are a number of vendors who will sell you a ticket to ride the bus to Mendenhall Glacier. Current price is $45/person which includes admission, transport there and back. If you have a National park pass, they will knock $5 off the price. No need to book ahead of time—lots of vendors, lots of busses. They are located next to the tram ride. I can’t give you any information about the helicopter rides but two weeks ago when I was in Juneau, there were a number of vendors who approached me about buying a helicopter ride. I wasn’t interested but there are vendors who seem to be selling day of tours.

We have four more cruises booked this year and have been six so far! Each one has been unique and fun due to the different people we meet. We’ve sailed HAL, Princess and NCL. Book it and enjoy!

I was on four Alaskan cruises this year—B2B, one week on land, B2B—on three different cruise lines. I was on HAL, Princess and NCL. Of the three, Princess was the best at requiring folks to mask up. NCL was the worst—I actually was confronted by a passenger as to why I was wearing a mask. He was so aggressive that he was reported to staff during our conversation. Geesh! I was asked if I wanted to file a report. Nope, just requested that that ‘gentleman’ and traveling party would try to avoid us. I did get up and leave some venues when they showed up… We have been home for a week and neither of us have tested positive. We had taken five monitored tests during our travels (negative) and we wore masks on board ships, shore excursions, transfers, Alaska Rail, Major Marine tour, etc. While on land, we arranged private tours when we could to minimize exposure. Sounds like we dodged a bullet in not catching Covid! People are certainly NOT masking. Our NCL cruise was horrible due to the behavior of unmasked folks and kids, poor food quality and activities. We used the last of our FCC—we will never take another NCL cruise. We enjoyed our other cruises so much that we’ve jumped on a great price and booked an August Alaskan cruise on HAL. We’ll do the same as we did earlier this summer (masking, etc) and hope we don’t catch Covid!

I have been unable to access my Princess account for the past two days. Yes, I can access individual cruises using the booking number but have been unable to access my account! I’ve tried using different devices but no go! I had a casino offer (not a free room, but fare discount and free play) that I was trying to book. I could do a mock booking but wouldn’t honor the reduced fare or promotions. Ended up on hold for three hours to book the cruise. Annoying but we saved over $1500 by using the casino code so it was worth the long wait! Princess told me that they were having some glitches with the website. Said if I was still having problems by Friday, call them back.

I’m not sure I would ride a bike to Ward Cove—what’s there to visit? Totem Blight Park is north of Ward Cove. To get there you are on a two lane road without bike lanes and, at times, no shoulder. My suggestion is to take the city bus to Totem Blight ($2 each way)—and then walk around town to see the totem heritage center and hatchery. Ketchikan is very walkable. We have biked in Skagway and Haines a few times. We use Sockeye Cycle (https://www.sockeyecycle.com/). Have done tours with them (my favorite is the Rainforest ride) as well as bike rentals. Skagway, in my opinion, is just better for exploring on a bike—less vehicle traffic and wider streets.

Because of my dietary issues, we usually book excursions ahead of time to be sure that I will have something to eat! The cruise lines know of my issues but I do a number if things before an excursion, both pre-and onboard. My preference is to book independently—sometimes it’s a bit of a hassle to determine the tour provider on a cruise excursion. Once on board, if it’s a ship’s excursion, I visit the Shore Excursion desk to talk to the staff. I try to contact the tour provider well before the cruise to let them know and to ask questions. It’s an opportunity for me to gauge whether or not they understand my condition and if they will handle my food appropriately. If I end up bringing my own food, then they are aware of that so I don’t get any negative feedback during the tour. I bring protein bars, Epic meat bars, dried cheese, nuts etc. I’ve also brought backpacking meals (some brands are amazingly tasty!)—just add hot water and I have a healthy safe meal!

I use Notability to organize and store all cruise documents. I really enjoy being able to notate documents with my Apple Pencil in the app.

All five of our cruises are shown in the app.

Using my phone for all cruise documentation, Covid test results, vaccination cards, etc does NOT take any longer than handing over paper copies. Having items organized and readily available on my phone has worked great for the 10 cruises I’ve been on since October. In fact, there have been times I’ve been motioned forward to bypass people searching their bags for paper copies. I’ve stopped printing anything but luggage tags. I save documents as pdfs or screenshots on my phone—I don’t need internet or WiFi to access this material.

Some of the activities we’ve enjoyed at Seward other than the Kenai fjord cruise are kayaking with Sunny Cove, the Sea Life Center, and the Real Alaska Tour (Exit Glacier, Seavey Sled Dog kennel). Have eaten at a number of places but the only places we would go back to: the Cookery (fantastic!) and Woody’s Thai.

We’ve used this service and have it booked for later this month: https://www.portvancouver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/WCS-Bagdrop.pdf It does look like you can only store luggage until 5 pm though.

Thank you for your report. I have celiacs (but fortunately I can eat diary) so can relate to the issues/challenges your wife faced. I always carry gf bread, peanut butter and honey for a quick meal. Last summer, hubby and I did a four week DIY trip in Alaska. I was worried about the availability of safe food on our trip. I ended up carrying gf backpacking meals. Surprisingly good! Has your wife ever thought about bringing these? Lots of options—curries, stews, vegan. Just add boiling water and you get a pretty good meal.

Thank you for your report. We were on the Majestic in March—loved the ship!

We’ve taken Amtrak many times to and from Vancouver. We’re from Northern California so we take the Coast Starlight. A few times, we’ve gotten off in Seattle, spent the night at the Pioneer Square Embassy Suites and then taken the Cascade train to Vancouver. There’s a taxi stand outside of the Vancouver train station for quick access to the port. The morning train is nice—great scenery. BUT, it’s not running this year. Amtrak currently is only providing bus service to/from Seattle-Vancouver. We’ve also continued on to Richmond or Vancouver from the Coast Starlight. The portion of the journey from Seattle to Vancouver is on a bus and you arrive around midnight. We’ve gotten off at the Richmond stop, stayed at a hotel there (much cheaper than downtown Vancouver) and then taken the Skytrain to Canada Place. Also have gone directly to Vancouver, taxied to a hotel and then walked to the port. We usually only have one suitcase and a backpack so it’s easy to get around. This year, we’re taking the train/bus to Richmond, BC and staying the night before our cruise. We’re taking our Covid test at the airport (hotel is providing transport to the airport) before hopping on the Skytrain to Canada Place. Always budget at least $300/night for Vancouver and Seattle stays. It just expensive to stay in desirable hotels close to the port. I hate to spend that much when sometimes we don’t get to the hotel until 1 am but it is what it is.

Received an email this afternoon informing us that due to a deployment issue, our cruise is cancelled! It was on the Koningsdam on April 1, 2023 from San Diego to Vancouver. We received a $100 SBC for each person to be used on any other Pacific Coast voyage sailing Fall 2022-Spring 2023. Disappointed but we had only put a FCC deposit down on the cruise.

I wouldn’t bring snow pants but I do bring water resistant pants for Alaska. I will wear leggings underneath them if the weather is too cold. I have a good pair from Eddie Bauer but last summer I brought these from Amazon and wore them on a glacier trek and two kayak trips. Cold and rainy on the glacier but these pants kept me dry. And the price is pretty good. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XD9WBF3?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1&psc=1

If you are able to do the self assist walk off, you wil have no problems getting a taxi or a Lyft/Uber. We are frequently among the first off the ship and have never had a problem getting a ride. We usually catch an Uber at the entrance to the port to avoid the congestion within the turnaround.

Yay! Thank you for doing a live report! I will be boarding the Royal on June 25th.

I booked a couple of tours with this company: https://olistrolley.com/ Good reviews on TripAdvisor and on my roll call.

Another suggestion for a day in Seward is taking the Real Alaska Tour (they work with the railroad so you won’t miss the evening train to Anchorage). We had a day to kill in Seward before taking the train to fly from Anchorage. We really enjoyed the tour—visited Exit Glacier, had lunch, went to Seavey’s Kennels and rode a dog cart and cuddled with puppies, and observed salmon at a weir (forgot its name) before being dropped off at the depot to catch the train.

Take a look at what Salmon Berry Tours offer out of Anchorage. We’ve used them a couple of times—friendly guides and small groups. We’ve done the independence mine tour and the glacier trek tour with them. I highly recommend the Matanuska Glacier Trek. It was a highlight of our trip last summer. We loved it so much we’re doing it again this year! The trek is not all that rigorous. If you can walk 2 miles, you should be okay with the tour. Ground is uneven but you’re wearing crampons. Speak to the guides and they will adjust/adapt to any physical limitations you may have. I sprained my knee the night before our tour. Couldn’t climb very well but still was able to walk on the glacier and have a wonderful experience.

You should be okay—we did that a couple of times preCovid. Not off a Carnival cruise though, Princess for us. We didn’t check our bags. We just carried them on the train (we generally travel with backpacks and carry-ons).

Not sure about other lines, but on the Princess website you can access the different excursions offered at the Alaskan ports. From the main website, click on the Destinations tab. Once there, you can see the section for Plan & Book which has the link to all the shore excursions offered by Princess. Should give you a good starting point—after a dozen Alaskan cruises, I’ve found that there’s not much difference between different cruise lines. I highly recommend you look into a Disney Alaskan cruise based on the ages of your children (5 yo, correct?). Our first cruise to Alaska was on the Disney Wonder with our kids (8 and 10)—lots of activities/excursions that were appropriate for families and kids. A bit pricier than other lines but you do get what you pay for! Now that our kids are grown (mid 20s) we cruise other lines.

Thank you! We’re leaving Vancouver about 3 pm and was wondering what to do with our luggage.