floater

I can't speak for the train to Seward, but we took the train from Anchorage to Whittier. We also booked on our own and yes, the train people collected our bags and delivered them to the ship. I didn't know they would do this, it was very convenient. The porter at the station helped us put on our luggage tags and was very helpful. When we were done I offered him a tip and he said he works for the city and they arn't allowed to accept tips. The train trip was a great start to our cruise.

My wife and I went out with Jayleen last Wednesday. We booked with her largely based on the Trip Advisor review by Italy52. All I can say is thank you, you weren't lying. This was an awesome trip with an awesome lady. I just posted a brief review on her Facebook page. I don't think you can find a better whale watching experience.

In Juneau we saw a shop called Changing Tides. It was in a place called Senate Mall, downtown. The captain on our whale watch tour said that area has many local stores and the Senate building has all local products. She dropped us off there and we walked back to the ship.

My wife and I did this last week. We booked through Princess, on board, and the price was $99.00 each. We boarded a bus at the pier and it was a short drive. I was afraid the atmosphere would be very hokey but I wanted to see the puppies. It turned out to be a great experience. All the characters were entertaining during the gold panning portion, and we ended up with several flakes. The talk by the Musher, CJ, was great. She just qualified to run in her first Iditarod. Then we met her dogs, they wern't at all what you would expect, that's all I will say here. You must see for yourself. She does a demo run around a short training track and if you want to take pictures you have to be quick. I was amazed at how fast these dogs run. Then they brought out the puppies. They were only 14 days old last week, and they were adorable. There were 5 or 6 of them and we all got to hold them for as long as we wanted. We took lots of pictures. There was a 40 Below room we passed on. We both said it was a great experience and not only did we have fun, but we learned a lot about the sport of Dog Sledding. I can honestly recommend this tour.

11 hours ago, tsutt35 said:

We did Ketchikan on our own last year. It was really easy to get around and we had a full day seeing things. I blogged about the day with photos if you are interested.

 

https://tanyastravelblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/blue-skies-for-the-red-light-district/

 

Thank you so much for posting the link to your blog, it's terrific. My wife and I are going on this same cruise in late May. This will be our first cruise in Alaska so I enjoy seeing what others have done.

I just finally figured out how to access your photos, they are striking. I would like to ask a few questions about your whale shots, if I may. It looks like you sometimes shoot in either burst mode or maybe some are captures from a video, yes? What type of camera and what lens(s) did you use? Can you give me any advise for camera settings, shutter speed, ASA, etc. Thanks for any advise.

2 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

 

Do you mean Jayleen's Alaska?????  If so, I can tell you that we have gone with her 4 times now (2 trips in 2017 and 2 trips in 2018) and will be going again with her in June for another 2 trips.  Jayleen has always provided us with an excellent experience.  I posted my reviews on TripAdvisor.  Jayleen has received lots of positive comments on TripAdvisor.  Check out her website (shown below) if you have not already done so.

 

https://jayleensalaska.com/

 

I have booked with her largely because of your post on Trip Advisor. I love the small boats, limited passengers, and the fact that she is a small business. First trip to Alaska, we will be going in late May.

Peety3, thank you for sharing your fabulous photos. I have a similar camera and I would like to ask a few questions, if I may, about your camera settings. I noticed that most of your whale shots are with an ISO of 400, and 800. Additionally most are with a shutter speed between 2000 and 5000. I understand why these settings would be beneficial, but they seem pretty extreme compared to my normal everyday stuff. Do you set a specific ISO and shutter speed in a programed mode? What priority mode do you use, if any. Thanks for any advise you can give me.

I just booked a trip with Jayleen's Alaska. She offers a 4 hour trip that includes pick-up at the pier in Juneau. She uses smaller boats and takes a maximum of 6 people per tour. Check out her website, she is an Alaskan native with a very interesting history. I'll try to post a link, but I'm not too computer savvy.

http://jayleensalaska.com/

Yes, but you will AGAIN be charged the 10% penalty. We were not happy about that.

Why am I not surprised?

Floater, I am on the 5/31 also. If you hear anymore about the Havana tours, can you let me know. Would appreciate. I am going solo, so would be great to go with a few others, instead of a shipload.

Hi babsie, I agree. I saw you on the Roll Call. I haven't been back here in awhile but I'm still looking for private tours. I'll keep in touch with what I decide on.

I've seen a lot of posts about converting US $ to Cuban. I was wondering if there is any provision for converting Cuban back to US for money you didn't spend.

Yesterday and agent and I called RC together. We were told that 3rd party is ok but you must ha d excursions booked for both days To get off the ship both days. For example, we arrive at 4:00 pm. If you do not have an excursion booked that night you can not get off the ship. We asked if we could get off for dinner and dancing only and were told no. I’ve been on several cruises but am far from an expert. Cuba is so different because things consistently change. It would be very upsetting to be in Cuba and unable to get off the ship. I am just trying to ask the right questions and collect accurate answers.

Hay Robyn, I'm on the 5/31 cruise. It's not an overnight in Havana, I wish it was. I'll let you know what happens to me. I'll either be sending you a photo of the square, or a post from my cabin, depending on my location when we dock. I certainly hope it isn't the latter. :confused:

Please don't take this the wrong way, I mean NO disrespect to you lamrobyn. I just booked this cruise Friday night so I am far from an expert on Cuba, but I have been feverishly reading the posts about The Empres and the port of Havana. It seems to me that the problem is more with RCCL and the box you check, than a requirement to take a ships tour or not. I tend to give more credence to the information from posters whose names I recognize, from my research on these boards. The two posters have over 14,000 posts over several years. I'm not sure that the TA has the best information. Just my opinion :D

We sailed Empress to Cuba in October, 2017. I did most of my research on Cuba CC site but also used Google. Enjoy your cruise. We did. There were some excellent reviews posted on CC and you may be able to find them if you have time to search.

I've been looking at the Empress threads today. Lots of great trip reviews with a lot of info, also some nice photos. I think I saw your name in some of them didn't I?

Hi, is anyone thinking of taking this cruise? We are! Just waiting for the OK to have those days off! Have you already been to Havanna? Any suggestions? Pros/Cons? Thanks in advance for any relevant info that you can share on the ship and the excursion to take.

It looks like you got your O K since I see that you started a Roll Call for this cruise. I booked this cruise too. I am excited to be going to Cuba. I'm afraid I don't know anything about either the ship or the port of Cuba, but part of the fun for me, is doing the research. I will keep in touch.

I am putting together a Cabin Crawl for our Reflection Cruise and I plan on starting out after the Connections Party. Can anyone tell me where the CC get together is held and when? Additionally I was wondering if there is a made to order Eggs Benedict station in the buffet area? I thoroughly enjoyed the one on The Century on our last cruise. Thank you for the help.

Floater