ErLee

7 hours ago, martincath said:

Thanks for returning with feedback - and glad you enjoyed yourselves! Hubby's knee is bearing up I trust?

So far so good, we’re just trying to be mindful so he can make it through the whole 2 week trip and still be on his feet!  Surgery is likely when we get back home 😒

Well we decided on the LandSea HOHO based on the number of bad reviews about Westcoast. We did it today, and it was great, we did not regret it!  Yes, there are fewer stops, but to me they stopped in all the places you’d get off anyway. Yes, the busses are spaced with less frequency, but they have a schedule, and they stuck to it so there was no guessing game about when they’d be there. We were on both one of the double deckers with the open windows, which we loved on this spectacularly beautiful day, and later one of the regular motor coach type busses. The former had a better view, but the latter had better audio because there was no traffic sound from open windows.  Neither had the prerecorded audio that I’ve heard about on Westcoast. LandSea had live commentary by people that seemed enthusiastic about their city!  We also used our ticket to take the ferry to Granville Island and then from there to Yaletown. I highly recommend this option for getting an overview of Vancouver!

6 hours ago, Ep010835 said:

 

Or try it and if it’s unusable, go see the on board internet manager. 

On our last sailing on the Grand it was so bad I cancelled on the second day out. He refunded both packages (wife’s and nine) completely. 

It cost us nothing to give it a try. 

This is what I decided to do for our trip this week, may as well give it a try!

3 hours ago, bemis12 said:

It’s still very slow. Almost to the point of unusable to surf & download.

 

 

That is definitely making me think about cancelling ours for next week!

Actually I’m pretty sure they do have Uber!

 Nice review, thank you!  We leave next week for our first trip to Alaska 

on the Coral!

Sounds fantastic!  We’ll be on the Coral with you followed by a 6 night connoisseur land tour we booked through Princess. We leave for Vancouver on Monday and couldn’t be more excited!! Have a great time getting there, see you on the ship!

10 hours ago, verobay said:

Saturday May 25: Sailing the Inside Passage

 

I had had the impression that today would be a very scenic day of sailing past mountains and looking for whales...we actually were in open ocean, out of sight of any land at all for the entire day. Oh well! 

 

We’re sailing north from Vancouver on Coral Princess next week, and I had the same impression from various sources. That’s a bit disappointing, but I guess we’ll do as you did and enjoy the ship!

We board next week and have purchased the $59.99 package for 2 devices - I'll let you know if we have a better experience!

We’ll be on the Coral next week for the northbound cruise, thanks for sharing your review and great photos!

Sounds like you got a great deal and had a fantastic trip! We leave next week for a 13 day land/sea trip, our first to Alaska. Hope ours is just as amazing!

Interestingly, the couple traveling with us next week bought Princess EZ Air and they were allowed to book flights from New York to Vancouver that arrive YVR at 1pm on the day of cruise departure 😯!!  Their philosophy is that Princess is responsible for getting them there, but I would be a nervous wreck!!  

We’re flying in 2 days early!

Great blog! We leave in a week for a couple days in Vancouver, then a northbound cruise on Coral Princess, followed by 6 nights on land. We are going ahead with our floatplane in Ketchikan and also doing the Denali flight with K2. I hope that like you, we find it more fun than scary! Doing a whale watch in Juneau and the train/van combo to Bennett from Skagway.  

Super excited!

Thank you for the explanation!

Can someone explain EZ Air to me? I have flights booked for a January cruise on the Sky, and haven’t used the EZ Air system before. I haven’t paid for them yet. It says price and availability not confirmed until payment or some wording along those lines. Does this mean that what I have booked may not actually be available for me if I don’t go ahead and pay for the flights?

I’ve seen on these boards plenty of Princess passengers who are awfully proud of their status!  As if sharing ship space with those of “lower status” is somehow cheapening the experience.  I just have to shake my head and laugh 😆 

What is meant by premium teas?  Does anyone know?

And are there any specialty tea drinks available for the 15 drinks....for instance a Chai Latte?

Now THAT is a great idea!!  I think the combination of a HOHO plus the mobibike option might be perfect for us!  Thank you!!

I appreciate the input martincath! I knew they just started this month from info you gave me previously and figured it was a long shot but possible that someone on here might have tried it! If we do, I’ll definitely come back and post about it here for future travelers. I have read reviews of both on Trip Advisor, and Landsea HOHO certainly has way fewer reviews but comparing just from May 2019, Landsea’s are all really positive but one,  which is why I’m thinking about them despite being perhaps a worse value from a cost vs # of stops standpoint. Multiple complaints on the competitor about very hot, old buses, not sticking to the time schedule, poor audio or a pre recorded spiel played with bad timing. There is a complaint about Landsea that the passenger waited for a bus and saw two go by from Westcoast in that time, which speaks to your comment on frequency. Landsea does have a published time schedule like a regular public bus system on their website; hard to know if they stick to that!  

I’m trying to decide in general if a HOHO is best for us or a full on guided tour if we’re not able to bike. Going to the ortho doc on Tuesday, so we shall see what he thinks about the biking.....

Does anyone have personal experience on the new HOHO offered by Landsea in Vancouver?  I’m reading a lot of very lukewarm reviews on Trip Advisor of the other Grayline HOHO, so I’m interested in hearing about the new one if anyone has done it!  We’ll be there in 2 weeks, and my husband is having trouble with his knee that may keep us from following our original plan to rent bikes for our sightseeing. I’m sad about that, but trying to research our other options so we’ll have a backup plan if his ortho doc tells us that biking is a bad idea right now.

2 minutes ago, Sunny AZ Girl said:

I wore the same as I would on a Caribbean cruise. Dresses, slacks, and I carried a sweater. I didn't need it most of the time. 

 

Sometimes I wore the sandals I brought. 

Ok thanks! That’s just what I was planning to do for evening wear!

As the OP on this thread, thank you to all of you that have taken the time to post such great advice!  Soon I’ll be packing and these tips will all help so much.  On behalf of all of us 2019 Alaska cruisers, keep posting your input!!

9 hours ago, Sunny AZ Girl said:

We just returned from our 11 night Alaska cruise last night. At the glaciers we were the coldest,. We had two glacier days on the ship and one small boat excursion for a close up view.  There we wore jeans, and layered tops (long sleeve knit top, lightweight fleece, waterproof jacket with a removable hood and zip out fleece lining) and gloves. Inside the boat we stripped down to the knit top.  We needed the jackets and gloves outside. 

 

In port we wore our jackets over a knit top and were fine. Sunny days (we had several) the jackets weren't needed most of the day. Cool and rainy days, they were. Layers are the key. Bring an umbrella.

 

My regular athletic shoes were fine every where I went. No boots needed. 

 

I brought 2 pair of leggings to wear under my jeans on cooler days. I wore them once on a cool, overcast day. I about died of heat stroke. I never opened the second pair. Not even needed at the glaciers. 

 

If you are going dog sledding on ice you may need more. But I would ask the tour provider for recommendations.  You aren't in the artic. Don't over pack or over dress. You will look silly and be miserable. 

We leave in 2 weeks - thank you for an update on what you needed and didn’t! It will help me immensely as I pull together my wardrobe.  What about in the evenings in the dining room and venues on the ship - were you in short sleeves and sandals or sweaters and closed shoes?  That may seem like a dumb question, but I’m trying to picture that part of the trip and having a hard time knowing what to take.  

Sounds like a great first day! 

On 5/15/2019 at 9:15 AM, Mommydust said:

I personally think next month will be the safest month to fly. Given the fear factor, and close time proximity to the recent floatplane tragedy, cancellations will be up, meaning fewer flights, yet pilots will be more alert than ever. Whatever you choose, have a wonderful vacay!

We hope you’re right as we also have a Misty Fjords and a Denali flight scheduled in June. Not going to change our plans - after 18 months of  research and planning, we’re sticking with the decisions we’ve made!