Nina2014

OP here-

MGT- Mendenhall Glacier Transportation in Juneau

there are a number of tour companies offering various tours of the Mendenhall Glacier and surrounding areas at comparable prices; the Visitors centre recommended MGT to us. We took the City plus Glacier Tour ; priced at $35; they gave it to us for $25 pp since we were the last 2 seats vacant on the bus.

Funicular in Ketchikan - a little lift or tram that goes up a steep hill to the top of the hill to Cape Fox hotel; there are some totem poles at the back of the hotel and some gorgeous views.

hope this helps.

I am just back from Volendam's Sep 3- Sep 10 cruise to Alaska; thank you to everyone on this board for all the tips and advice; we had the best time!!

Amazing weather , warm, sunny , brisk everyday except in Skagway which was the one day we got some rain and it was cold (about 10 degrees Celsius) on our trip up to the Yukon.

The ship is in very good shape, the service was good, stateroom was very comfortable and our room stewards were the sweetest guys.

Food was satisfactory most of the time; excellent sometimes. Desserts were wonderful. We preferred the Lido; ate in MDR 3 times including 2 formal nights; Food was beautifully presented at MDR; went to cupcake afternoon tea once.

Shows were amazing, we went to all of them ; the Volendam dancers and singers were sooo good. Loved the solo guitarist in Ocean bar and classical violinist/pianist duo (Adagio, I think).

Ports- Juneau - went to Mendenhall and Nugget Falls ($35 pp for city/glacier roundtrip) picked up at dock with MGT; walked around town later

Skagway- took Chilkoot tours to Yukon (8 hour bus /train combo)- was absolutely beautiful although foggy quite a bit of the way on the train back

Ketchikan- LOVED it ; warm and sunny day so we took a walking tour on our own around town ; went up funicular ($4 pp); shopped at Tongass ; it was my favourite port in Alaska

Glacier Bay was truly AWESOME- the sky was blue, sun was shining and the glaciers were sparkling bright white and blue ; it was so warm we took off all our layers; lovely day there; pea soup on deck

All in all, it was one of the best vacations ever.. already thinking of next year's trip!!

OP here-

thanks for the great ideas, everyone.

Based on your feedback, I think we will not take an organized tour but just take a bus out there so that we allow plenty of time to walk slow and take in the sights.

Not sure if I should be posting this somewhere else, but I am booked on HAL cruise to Alaska in 5 days (YAY!!), so I am posting this here.

Also coz I have found HAL forum posters to be the friendliest so far to me

(cruise and forum newbie)!!

Anyway, my question is ...Should we be tipping the drivers or guides for shore excursions? if so, how much? Any help is appreciated.

We are booked on a couple of shore excursions in Juneau and Skagway. Should we tip them? If so, how much?

OP here.

I think we will buy some food after security for the flight for sure. Hopefully Dive In will still be open if we board later afternoon to grab a quick snack.

thanks for your suggestions!

We are booked on the Volendam for Sep 3. Our Flight arrives in Vancouver at 12.20 pm that day. We have booked the flight and transfer to ship thru' HAL.

I was nervous about tight timelines but HAL assures us that it will be enough time between airport and ship to board for departure at 5 pm.

I guess we will reach the ship around 2.30 pm?

What is the best place to have a late lunch that day? Will the Lido or "Dive in" be open? We will be starving since there's no food on the flight. Will we miss anything by arriving so late?

Any advice is much appreciated...

thank You!

How far is the walk from the Mendenhall Visitors Centre to Nugget Falls? Is it hilly? My mom has some mobility issues and walks very slowly. Would she be able to do this walk?

I think there is self service laundry on the Volendam; on each deck?

Could anyone tell me how much it costs to wash and dry a load? Also do I have to have exact change in coins or do they have a change machine? Any recommendations on best time to do laundry?

thanks for the advice and feedback everyone; I appreciate the concern for my mom as well; it is a hairline fracture so we are told she will be mobile in 3 weeks and I don't want to wait till next year.

Looks like we will take some warm clothing and raingear and go! yay!

Hello,

This is my first post in this forum so please excuse me if I make mistakes in process of posting. That being said, we ( my mother and I ) were booked on the Volendam for an Alaska cruise starting August 13, 2014.

well, this week she fell and broke her ankle; we have to cancel obviously (thank heavens for cancellation plans!!) but I would like to re- book for early September on the same ship and same itinerary.

My questions to all your experienced cruisers, will September be too cold for Alaska? Any suggestions or ideas? I just don't want to cancel and not go , she is so disappointed. thanks!