disneyochem

Have you considered doing the Princess Heart of the Rockies cruise tour? It is a cruise tour that tours Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, a Rocky Mountaineer trip to Vancouver followed by a Northbound 7- day Alaskan cruise? We did it this past summer—very enjoyable. Stayed at all of the iconic Fairmont Hotels and only 24 people in our group. We actually did a B2B so we ended up in Vancouver.

Always nervous when traveling by train! We’re in the East Bay so our train ride is only one hour. If necessary, we’ll Uber in or drive depending on the train status when we’re ready to board the train.

We changed our train tickets. Was scheduled to be in the City by 11am. Now we’re arriving around 9 pm. I think it’s going to be a zoo…..

Just received this information from Princess about the December 12 10-day Mexican Riviera cruise out of SF. IMPORTANT NOTICES DELAYED EMBARKATION Please be advised that due to an increased amount of silt buildup at our assigned cruise berth and severe low spring tidal levels in San Francisco Bay, Crown Princess will not have the necessary under-keel clearance necessary to berth on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, in the early afternoon. As a result, your embarkation has been delayed. Check-in will begin at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, December 12, and embarkation will begin at 8:30 PM. Please do not arrive early as seating in the terminal is limited. Guests who arrive early may leave their luggage and enjoy the surrounding area. All guests must be aboard by 10:30 PM. Please keep any essential items such as passports and other travel documents, medication, baby formula, and pajamas in your carry-on baggage as checked luggage will be delivered to staterooms late at night. In recognition of the delayed start to your cruise and to offset any expenses you may incur due to the delay, all guests will receive a $25 onboard credit. Thank you for your attention to this notification.

We have used Salmon Berry Tours numerous times. The first time was a cruise transfer to Anchorage. There was only one other couple taking the tour that day—it was great! We got picked up right at the pier and dropped off at our hotel. The driver personalized the experience for us. Very enjoyable. Since that first trip, we’ve been on a few tours with them. It’s easier for us to just take a tour with them instead of renting a car on a short, one day visit.

Just got off the Koningsdam —ate at Tamarind, not PC. Our group ordered multiple appetizers without extra charges. We were a group of 5 (three young adults with heathy appetites) and ordered every appetizer on the menu. Only two ribs an order so ordered another one so all could taste. Same with the tempura shrimp and veggies. One member of our party ordered two desserts as well! Made up for me though—too full to eat dessert!

I would say to expect kids and families and be pleasantly surprised if there are none! I teach at a California university--that is our spring break. I always cruise during this time and there seems to lots of families and kids--even on Holland America and out of San Diego. Don't see a lot of stereotypical college spring break kids, but a number of families are usually on a cruise during that time. I'm not on this cruise during my 2024 spring break but over on Princess (out of LA) for a 10-day Total Solar Eclipse cruise! But I am booked on the Koningsdam for my 2025 spring break!

It’s pretty easy to get from the cruise port to Emeryville. We take the train home after every SF cruise. Takes about 20-30 minutes regardless of whether it’s a weekday or not. We take both taxis and Ubers across the Bay depending on when we get off the ship—prices seem to be about the same. If we get off early (we’re self-assist), we normally just nabbed a taxi from the taxi stand right outside the terminal—always check though to be sure they’ll go to Emeryville! Later in the morning, we’ve found it quicker to just use an Uber. As an earlier poster noted, the Coast Starlight doesn’t arrive in Emeryville until late in the evening. When you want to store your luggage and spend your time will probably depend on when you head to Emeryville. You can store your luggage at the Amtrak station—they charge $10 a bag. I would call just to make sure they still do (it’s been awhile since I’ve used this service). So you could get to Emeryville, store your luggage and then explore the area—go back into the City? You could also store your luggage in SF, explore and then go to Emeryville. That trip might take longer on a weekday since then you will be traveling with commuters. Enjoy the train ride! We’ve taken the route a number of times and love it.

We’ve done a number of Disney cruises when the kids were younger. They didn’t enjoy them as much once they were of drinking age! 🤣. They like being able to find bars anywhere on a ship rather than in just one location!

I’ve done this experience twice—once with the hubby, once on a girls’ cruise. Both times we were comped (not in suites nor casino players)—not sure why we were offered but certainly took advantage of it! Both times I was able to have my dietary issues addressed (am a celiac); the second time I requested no octopus. I enjoyed the first time much more than the second—it was new, exciting and fun! The second time with the hubby, I really enjoyed watching him experience the meal. The food and wine were great. The service was exceptional. I was sent a survey afterwards (both times) asking about our experience as well as how much would I pay for a 360 experience. I equated it to a Chef’s Table meal. We will not pay to do this but to be fair, we’ve already experienced it! We’ve done the WMD, the Chef’s Table and other fine dining experiences on Princess and other lines. We consider them a ‘one and done’ experience and move on to try the next! I do recommend people experience the dinner at least once—it was fabulous. Enjoy!

We were on this cruise as well. It was a family trip— we spent time playing cards on board part of the time because we love to play games and there wasn’t anything else to do as a family! Our family members traveling with us are late 20 year olds. They mentioned numerous times throughout the cruise that there was nothing for them to do! Most of the games (Mario Kart, Cornhole, etc) were listed for teens or kids. No karaoke, no DJ and dancing, etc. They had brought their Nintendo Switch with them (even though I had told them they’d be too busy! Boy, was I wrong!) and would set up in the Crow’s Nest late at night and play games! They had just been on a Princess Alaskan cruise this past summer. Both of our kids commented on how much fun it had been and that there was so much to do! This was their first HAL cruise— we’ve booked for next Thanksgiving on the Koningsdam but we are exploring other options! I do agree about the quality of music—we would be in Billboard enjoying drinks and talking. The woman who was part of the piano duo was not very good—out of tune and flat—as soon as she started we had to leave!

We’ve done Option 1 a couple of times. The train depot in Seward is close to where you get on the Kenai Fjords cruise. It’s a quick 10-15 minute walk, the company will store your luggage for you (we like to use Major Marine) until you get back. Lunch is available on the cruise—make a dinner reservation for that night. With one full day in Seward, you can do a number of things: there are shuttles to Exit Glacier (I think it’s about $20 pp), visit the Sea Life Center, kayak on Resurrection Bay, visit an Iditarod dog kennel. (I would not stress about making the Kenai Fjord cruise—there will be numerous folks who will also be going. The tour companies know and in fact work with Alaska Railroad in providing these tours. They will wait.)

Yes. We did that this past week on the Koningsdam. We were also able to order Tamarind food a la carte as well.

Just got off the Koningsdam yesterday. On embarkation day, Ubers and taxis were allowed to enter the gate and drop off passengers who then went directly into the terminal building even though there was a huge line. Port employees told me that passengers were suppose to go to the back of the line but they had no way to enforce it. It was annoying to see that—folks behind us actually called an Uber and got in before us. They were so proud when we ran across them later at the Ocean Bar. Two ships that day as well. We showed up at our boarding time (1:30 pm). Line surprisingly moved quickly—we were on board within 45 minutes.

Cruise and travel a lot in Alaska (not on RCL though), and yes it can still be light late at night. It doesn’t bother me but hubby prefers a completely dark room! We carry clips to put on the drapes in a hotel room or ship cabin. I’ll also use hangers with pant clips to make sure there is no light! Most cruise cabins do have blackout curtains but sometimes you do get gaps that let in light.

I had a pdf where I blacked out information. Used the work around mentioned in an earlier post—picked Fidelity and just uploaded my pdf.

And yet, Holland America is not on Stock Perks app. We cruise both lines—I uploaded stock info for our upcoming Princess cruises on Stock Perks. Easy peasy and a quick confirmation that OBC has been applied. HAL is not listed so looks like we will be continuing to send our info in via email.

Another option that is not as nice as those posted above is the Ship Creek Comfort inn and Suites. It is near the train depot—they have a shuttle (which is nice for a late night arrival) or you can walk. Same in the morning—take their shuttle back to the train. They offer a breakfast (which we don’t use). Not too much to do around the hotel so it’s good for a late night travel arrival followed by a morning train departing. Rooms are okay for one night.

You can book directly with the bus company: https://alaskacruisetransfer.com/schedule/. There are several departures from Seward directly to Anchorage during the day. One can spend the day in Seward (dog sled, Kenai Fjord Wildlife cruise, Alaska Sealife Center, Exit Galcier) and go to Anchorage (5:30 pm bus). Or go early to Anchorage and spend the day there. It just depends on what you’d like to do. There are places to store luggage in Seward and Anchorage so you can go places. Another option is to take the longer bus trip that stops at the Alaska Wildlife Center and Girdwood. I priced out a couple of options for you as well and it does appear that the cheapest is to take the bus. Edited to add that while it is not my preferred mode of transportation, the ACT bus is nice and drivers are very professional.

Depending on the time of year, I would highly recommend Cabo! I like to use Whale Watch Cabo (https://whalewatchcabo.com/) though many just find a boat right at the marina. This company always has a marine biologist on board which adds to our enjoyment of the tour. (I went alone on our last visit to Cabo. Back on the ship, I was raving to my hubby about how great the whale watching was. He then showed me pictures he took from our balcony while the ship was tendered—breaching whales, whales flapping the water, etc. During sail away, we saw numerous whales from our balcony.)

In addition to the 26 Glacier cruise, we’ve also taken the shorter Glacier Quest cruise. I really enjoyed the shorter cruise this past summer. Still saw a number of glaciers and wildlife. It was nice getting back to Whittier in time to have dinner before getting back on the ship for the southbound journey.

My advice is to take a ship’s excursion to somewhere you might be interested in—you’ll get priority in getting transferred from Ward Cove! On our visit, we didn’t have priority and had to wait a bit to go into town. We have been to Ketchikan numerous times but it was annoying that by the time we got to town we had less than an hour to wander! (It was such a mess on our last NCL Alaskan cruise that we swore we’d never cruise NCL again—like you, we were using up FCC from cancelled cruises.) Another vote for Annabelle’s. We also like Fat Stan’s. If you’re looking for breakfast, the Alaska Crepe Company makes great crepes!

Yes. We did this last summer. Dropped off bags at the Alaska Railroad depot with NCL luggage tags. Rode the train to Seward, walked to Major Marine, went on the 6-hr wildlife cruise tour and then walked over to board the ship. We were eating dinner at Cagney’s by 6:30 pm. Only hiccup in our plan was that we arrived at the same time as the cruise line train transfer—lots of folks getting on and it took along time to board! If we ever do this again, we would just eat a nice meal in town before boarding.

LOL! My hubby also requests no matching tees on family cruises! For our upcoming family Thanksgiving cruise, I have purchased personalized tumblers for everyone—navy for male, light blue for female. Each tumbler says “Oh Ship! It’s a D____ Family Trip!” Name is on the other side I also got each cabin a personalized magnets—Large Thanksgiving Turkey with smaller personalized turkeys. I really enjoy planning little things to enhance our cruises. One a recent girls’ trip, I got everyone personalized Captain hats for sail away. Each cruiser on their first cruise also gets a Bon Voyage bag— magnetized wall hooks, Downey wrinkle release, ear plugs, eye masks, sea sickness pills, etc. I get the personalized material on Etsy.

Our favorite restaurant is Bencotto’s. Glad you got the hotel figured out. We prefer staying the Springhill—especially since we like to arrive in San Diego via Amtrak. We’re cruising out of San Diego during Thanksgiving week as well (Nov 19 on the Koningsdam) but will be coming down that morning from Orange County after staying with family.