MommyCPA

I was thrilled that I had waterproof hiking boots and my winter boots.  But my definition of winter boots and yours are probably different.  I live in Houston.  Alaska felt like the dead of winter to me at 50 degrees and rainy!  That's exactly what a Houston winter day feels like.  I wore my cute, zip up leather boots with leggings to dinner several times.

We did the Ruby Princess in June 2017.  It was my parents (in their 70's), my daughter, son, and daughter in law (all 20 somethings), and me, 50's.  We found that so many of the passengers were multigenerational families with grandparents, parents, and kids.  The families ranged from all ages, but we didn't see many little kids.  There were tons of elementary schoolers, teens, and young adults on up to 70's and 80's. 

I found the food just fine.  We all had some onboard credit and we ate in the steakhouse one night.  Make your reservation right away after boarding for one of the sea days.  It was delicious.  The buffet was average, and we didn't have it a whole lot, but sometimes it was most convenient.  The dining room was good and when it fit out plans, we ate there, a few times as a group and a few times separately.  We ate at the International Café quite often.  Our port schedule often meant that we were not onboard when the dining room was open.  It was nice to grab a sandwich, salad, or pasta and a coffee or hot chocolate when we got back on port.  It was busy because lots of folks did this, but the line wasn't awful. 

We loved Juneau.  We did whale watching with Jayleen's Alaska, a small boat.  We then took a cab (since there are more of you, it will be cheaper than the shuttle bus) to Mendenhall Glacier and hiked to Nugget Falls and saw the glacier.  We called for a cab back and then went to the Red Dog Saloon for a bit. 

In Skagway, my mom and dad did the train combined with a van back (Dyea Dave's, but Chilkoot is also good) that stopped at Emerald Lake.  But you could rent a car or do other excursions.  My kids and I did Glacier Point Wilderness Safari where you travel by boat, hike, canoe, and hike again to Davidson Glacier and see it up close.  We really enjoyed it!  There isn't a lot to see in Skagway itself.  It's a tiny town with a bunch of tourist shops.  We walked around a bit there after our excursions. 

All those who say it's about the ports are correct!  My parents cruise HAL, though.  I think it's a little too laid back for me.

We went with Jayleen 2 summers ago and had a great trip!  We saw whales, sea lions, eagles, etc.  She totally knows what she's doing and we loved the experience with a small boat and very small tour where we could really ask questions and talk with them.  We loved it and I would totally go with her again!  She grew up on an island just off Juneau and her dad bought her a skiff when she was 12 so that he wouldn't have to take her to town anymore.  She's been driving a boat for way more than half her life!

6 hours ago, hmanderson said:

We are sailing 5/28. Originally I planned to take my puffy coat. Now I'm rethinking that. Should a columbia fleece jacket topped by a raincoat be enough? I run hot most of the time and my puffy coat is very warm. I hate to be sweaty! I am so torn about other stuff to pack. Obviously I will be bringing jeans, but probably some long sleeve tees and short sleeve tees that I can top with a sweater. I hate packing!  

A Columbia fleece with a raincoat is exactly what I took.  I am quite cold most of the time and it was perfect because you could take off and put on or zip and unzip as needed. 

With a windy, cold drizzle much of the time we were there, I definitely needed a warm jacket.  Of course, warm is relative to where you come from.  I live in Houston, and Alaska felt pretty much like a Houston winter day.  Most of the time we were there the temp was around 55 degrees.  I wore a couple of shirt layers, plus a fleece like a North Face or Columbia jacket with a rain jacket over it.  I wore long underwear several times as well. 

The things I didn't need...I brought way too many dressy clothes.  I brought quite a few cute sweaters, pants, and boots.  Other than the one dress up night, most people were coming in from excursions and wearing either leggings, jeans, or hiking pants in the dining room.  Lots of times we weren't leaving port till 8 or later and ended up eating places other than the dining room. 

Thing I loved having...a cheap over the door pocket organizer to hang on the bathroom door and hold all the bathroom stuff that we didn't have room for on the tiny counter.

We did Mendenhall Glacier on our own when we went a couple of years ago.  We used a taxi.  It was cheaper than the shuttle bus for us because there were 4 of us.  I think even for 2 the taxi might be a little bit cheaper.  We got a card from the one that dropped us off and then just called them for pickup about 30 minutes before we were ready to leave.  I think we went to Mendenhall around 5 or 6 pm, maybe even later.  We didn't go to the visitor center.  We did the mile or so walk to Nugget Falls.  We really enjoyed walking around and taking pictures.  It was super easy to do on your own.  No need to pay extra through the ship.  Plus it's nice to be totally on your own time schedule.

My parents, my 3 adult children, and myself flew with Randy Sullivan on his plane that crashed 2 years ago next month.  We had a wonderful trip and found him to be very passionate about his flying and sharing Alaska with us.  He was constantly talking with other pilots in the Misty Fjords area when we toured with him.  He talked about safety a lot with us when we were starting out trip with him as well.  He was extremely experienced and knew the area very well.  He grew up there and was very passionate about the seaplane tours.  He worked knew Michelle well as they shared a dock.  They referred to each other but weren't partners as they each liked to do things their way. 

We took a taxi back last June and it was very easy. We spent about 2 hours at Mendenhall, taking pictures and walking the trail to the glacier.

Just take whatever Juneau whalecwatch tour you want and call a cab to pick you up and take you to Mendenhall when the whale watch is done. Spend whatever time you want at the Glacier (we spent a couple of hours) and call a cab to pick you up. That's exactly what we did. It was very easy.

We just got back from an Alaskan cruise on the Ruby Princess. We were told that they only reserve 20% of the anytime dining each night. Our longest wait was when we went to the dining room that was open 5:30 - 7:30 at 7:15. The wait would have been 40 minutes. Instead, we went downstairs to the other anytime dining room that opened at 7:30-9:30 and waited 15 minutes for it to open. That's the longest wait we had for dining and we only had reservations 1 night because we were unsure what time we'd be dining and if we would decide to eat something else those nights. Anytime dining worked out perfect for us. We were a family of 6 adults and therefore could decide to all eat together or separately if we weren't all ready or wanted to do different things.

My family all needs that "if lost return to" sign pinned to them. I am the planner and they count on me to find all the best things while they just show up and participate. It works well because I'm very detailed and good at trip planning and they trust me with it.

I saw tons of clueless people. I think they just thought, "Hey, let's go to Alaska. It will be fun!" So they googled Alaska Cruises and picked the first one they saw. People on our tours had no idea about differences between Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay and also that no large ship had gone to Tracy Arm yet this year. They read the stuff from the ship and picked excursions, not realizing they could have had a much better and sometimes cheaper experience. One our Glacier Point Wildlife Safari (Davidson Glacier) excursion almost everyone booked through the ship and paid $20 pp more for the exact same trip. I didn't share this with my excursion mates. Didn't want them to feel bad! LOL!!!

I think these people still have a good time. They don't realize how much more amazing it could be. Maybe they don't suffer FOMO like I do. I want to always pick the best thing and not miss out! So I plan extensively! My family likes surprises and don't want me to ruin it for them!

For me, a whale watch was a must do. I really wanted to see them and felt this was my best option. We were all very glad we went. We saw 5 whales (fins and tales) and one of them rolled and showed her dorsals. That same one also breached with her whole body. We were very lucky. We also saw sea lions from very close and a few seals.

We spent a bit of time watching from the ship and I think I saw a whale maybe 3-4 times from the ship. We saw lots of sea otters in Glacier Bay and quite a few sea lions and seals. I'm sure plenty of people on the ship didn't see these. You had to know how to look. If I hadn't gone on the whale watching tour, I probably would have missed them from the ship.

We drove by his place, and he already had his little car out for a drive around town. Just a great bunch of people....you won't be disappointed in booking this tour.

I was specifically alluding to this part of the post. In Skagway, we saw a guy driving a little car. If you saw it in Skagway, you'd remember. It was a tiny little convertible with a guy wearing a top hat. I assumed the poster was talking about this guy in a little car and I wondered if it was Dave. After doing a little more google image research, I'm pretty sure that the guy in the classic convertible was Dave.

We just got back from a round trip out of Seattle on the Ruby Princess. I was responsible for planning for our group. I chose the ship by first deciding one way or round trip and chose round trip. I decided the logistics of round trip was easier for our group. It also would be cheaper and that was important to us. Second, I chose port of departure and chose Seattle over Vancouver. Reasons for this choice (even though many of you think it's the wrong choice...it was right for us!) were because none of use had been to Seattle and wanted a couple of days to see stuff. We also had a lot of Southwest Airline miles that got us 4 free round trip tickets to Seattle. We didn't want to spend even more money and time to get to Vancouver from Seattle. Each to his own, right?

The last and biggest reason I chose our ship, the Ruby Princess, was because I wanted to see Glacier Bay. After researching the glaciers, I found that you really aren't guaranteed seeing them on other cruises that don't tour Glacier Bay. I ended up seeing 2 others...Mendenhall and Davidson, but not everyone in our party did the excursions to see these. We all adored our day in Glacier Bay. My parents had a large balcony that we all used. It was fabulous to just sit out there and the peacefulness of nature.

Once I chose Glacier Bay, there were only 2 ships to choose from...the Ruby Princess and one of the HAL ships. I chose Princess because of the slightly younger in general and less formal vibe we got from stuff I read about the lines. I'm sure HAL would have been fine as well. I also chose Skagway over Sitka because my parents wanted to do the train and it's easier from there.

If you go down the list of things like I did (round trip or not, choose your departure port, and Glacier Bay or not) the cruise selects itself because there aren't that many to chose from.

Is Dave the guy in the little car?

We went with Jayleen last week when we were in Juneau on the Ruby Princess. We loved Jayleen and her helper, Emily. Our tour was fabulous and I'd say it only could have been better if we'd been lucky enough to see bubble net feeding, which I believe it pretty rare! We were a party of 6, my parents in their 70's, myself, and daughter, son, and daughter in law. They are 25 and 30. She was knowledgeable and had a boat that was the perfect size for just the 6 of us. 8 is the most she will take. We saw quite a few whales, lots of tails, a lot of fins. One of them did a roll thing and showed her dorsal fins. She then proceeded to breach for us, all the way out of the water. We saw lots of sea lions, and even a few seals at the harbor. Jayleen's boat, the Alaska Girl, was comfortable and equipped with binoculars for all of us. She also had blankets in case we got cold, ever thought the boat cabin was heated. She had treats, granola bars, and drinks, too.

I actually spoke with her about her one bad review. She totally knows it's out there and owns it. If you are familiar with boats...hers is not big at all. She got out with her tour and the winds picked up to 80 knots. She admitted that she could have done some things better, but that to this day she's very happy she off loaded her passengers. She made it back, but a huge wave went over the top of her boat and cracked the top so that water was coming in. She felt she was putting the safety of the passengers first and said she would do the same thing again. It was a class trip all the way and I will write up reviews and give her 5 stars on Trip Advisor. She knows her stuff and we wouldn't hesitate to go with her again!

Having just gotten back from my cruise, I can't think of a single reason to take a tour to Mendenhall Glacier. We were a group of 4 and took a taxi there and called for pickup when we wanted to come back to town. It was super easy and cheaper than any of those buses. It was on our time, not their schedule. There are trail maps at Mendenhall if you want to hike. We went to Nugget Falls and it was very easy to do on our own. If there are only 2 of you, the bus might be cheaper. I'm sure renting a car and seeing things would be quite easy as well. You aren't in a foreign country. It's still the USA.

We booked direct for all the tours we did. We did the Glacier Point Wildlife Safari and it was wonderful. The guides are mostly 20 somethings with degrees who don't want a real job yet. They live on the island where the tour is in a camp and are very knowledgeable. Most have done it multiple years. We did exactly the same tour as the cruise ship's package for $20 less.

We did the Misty Fjords flightseeing tour with Randy of Mountain Air. He was wonderful. He is the owner of his plane and docks with the more well known Michelle of Island Wings. Our group of 6 was able to be the only ones in his plane. We were able to be flexible and choose where to land on the fjords. He saw a bear and we landed in a cove and watched the bear munching down on grass. We saw several eagles there and also saw a seal swim by us almost up to the plane. We got out on the pontoons and watched all this while asking whatever questions we wanted. We could have gone to a dock or actually got out on land. This flexibility is why I like small and private tours.

My parents did WPYR and Emerald Lake by bus with Dyea Dave. They were very happy with their trip and were in a much smaller bus where they could stop often. They felt like it was a toss up for them between booking Dyea Dave or Chilcoot. Both were slightly cheaper than the ship's tour and they got a better experience.

As far at SEA TAC goes, we just flew in and out of there for an Alaskan cruise. My dad has mobility issues and definitely needed a wheelchair. He gets around pretty well normally but we didn't see any moving sidewalks, etc that make getting around in a large airport easier. We fly in and out of IAH in Houston and I've been through many large airports (used to live in Dallas as well) and found Sea Tac to be not very well organized and really spread out and hard to get around for the actual numbers of flights in and out.

Make sure you get her a wheelchair.

Love this report! I will be getting on the Ruby next Saturday when you are leaving! Thanks for the tip on the Bering Sea fisherman talks. I will be looking for those things for the sea day. We are a group of 6, with myself, my kids in their 20's, and my parents. I can't wait!

I just looked at the online menu and the online Crown Grill info for my sailing next Saturday to Alaska out of Seattle. There is no info on the website that says additional items cost an additional charge. We plan on eating in the Crown Grill. I think I will print this out and take it with me. If they try to charge us, I'll be explaining that's not what their website says.

I'll let you know about the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari after we go. It's out of Skagway and you take a boat followed by a bus to get way out in the country where you put on rubber boots, etc. and then kayak and hike to the Davidson Glacier. I don't think it's that strenuous, but does require hiking around a mile on rocky terrain. The pictures and reviews are fabulous! It's a highly rated tour but also one that seems to be more off the beaten path. I think the maximum number of people total might be around 40 or so? Most of the pictures I've seen seem to be less than that. It appears you can usually walk near the glacier. If you book this one, it's through Alaska Excursions. There is only one company that does it. My Princess cruise offered the exactly tour (I'd be with the same company, etc.) but it was $20 more. I booked direct.

Has anyone tried emailing their statement to: guestadmin@carnival.com ? I'd much rather email than fax. Seems so antiquated.

Yes, I tried it about 3 weeks ago and it does NOT work. That is only for Carnival Cruises. I received an email back asking me to fax to the fax number I provided earlier in the thread.

After my experiences, I believe faxing will get the best and quickest results as far as shareholder OBC goes.

We are going in 2 weeks. We will be going with Randy on Mountain Air. It's the same trip that Michelle makes. They share a dock. It's another alternative in case she is booked.

I am not doing any tours with the ship. In every case, we've been able to arrange a tour that's private with only our group of 6 for less money than the ship tours cost. We will be able to customize our experience for just us.

I used my trade confirmation just this week. I wouldn't have a statement listing it till 6/1 and my cruise is 6/10 so I didn't want to wait. I faxed it to 661-753-0180 and my credit was applied within a few days. I didn't receive any email confirmation, but saw the credit on my account on the website. I redacted the account number on my confirmation. The whole process was very simple and took almost no time!

Hmm, I like to disconnect from the outside world/work/life pressures when on vacation. I put my phone in airplane mode and go!! I have a watch and don't need my phone really. My camera takes far superior photos anyway. I tell my husband it works magic on me because the photos we take are breathtaking [emoji4]

 

I won't interact with the app or tagalong I guess new marketing for the younger generation? Hope it works.... just hope it doesn't raise the price of cruising for something that is a dud.

 

 

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Totally different subject, but what camera do you use?