Dolphinseas143

1 hour ago, K32682 said:

I did an Alaska cruise on Princess last summer and a light sweater and rainproof jacket were more than sufficient.  It's summer time and wasn't cold. It was wet a couple of days but they weren't drenching downpours just light drizzle and mist. 

 

We did a lot of walking on the excursions so my hiking boots were definitely appreciated.  If you go inland on an excursion mosquito repellent is a good idea just in case.  

 

Also, Alaska is more casual so formal nights were thankfully largely ignored by most of the passengers. 

Great! Thank you so much.

Thank you so much for all of your advice. I called our agent and she said I could get the Alcohol package but my husband would have to get the Refreshment package. Hubbs is ok with that and we shall see how it goes. I really hope the sale stays a little longer so i can pay for it. 🙂 

On 1/9/2019 at 11:42 AM, Cailey53 said:

One packing tip that we found handy when we went to Alaska this past July—I bought a box of  suitcase size Ziplock Space Bags at Wal Mart. They require no vacuum to remove the air—instead they have a one way valve and you get the air out by rolling them. They are affordable (11.00 for a box of 5), worked really well and saved a lot of suitcase room for our fleece, coats, vests etc. We could not wear all our outerwear on the plane as, like you we live in GA and June and July are pretty toasty.

 

Enjoy your Alaska cruise—we had a ball!

Cathy

That's a good idea. I would have never thought about that. Yes June and July are not cool at all. I am so looking forward to this cruise.

On 1/9/2019 at 1:25 AM, martincath said:

Hmmm - looks like layers of clothes incl. a good waterproof shell and extremity coverings, passports (if flying to YVR), camera (extra batteries) have all been mentioned. I'll add sunglasses and sunblock - even if it's cloudy and cold you can easily get burned on the water as well as any shore excursions involving being on snow or ice - and extra memory cards for the cameras. Plus, if you're buying hiking boots or a new camera for the love of pete actually get out and about and use them! Break in boots LONG before you need them, and unless you know how your camera works and actually have it in hand you'll miss all sorts of reaction shots like surfacing whales, calving glaciers, family members making fools of themselves that you can blackmail later...

 

If you don't have any foreign travel scheduled or planned in the near future I'd be good with skipping passports for the kids this time around and flying RT Seattle - the risks of not being able to fly home immediately would be very remote, as your only time in Canada on a one-way cruise will be Vancouver on embarkation day and any other pre-cruise time spent here (well, if there was an onboard emergency during the first 24-36 hours you might be nearer a Canadian hospital too I suppose). This assumes that your cruise line is OK with it of course - but since the grownups have passports and kids <16 just need a birth certificate to cross back into the US by any method except flying, it should be OK (and the savings of not getting the passports plus likely a cheaper flight x4 to SEA could add up to a nice chunk of change, to be e.g. spent on extra hotel nights in Vancouver pre-cruise...)

 

Book the train from Seattle for the most relaxing way to get here, or rent a car one-way at Seatac for the most flexible routing (but NB: car seats for the kids are then required!)

 

As to what to do with small children in Alaska - you can almost certainly outrun your three year old, and if not you should be able to easily pick up and toss them behind you to distract any pursuing grizzlies;-)

Thank you this is very helpful! The grizzlies would have to work pretty hard to catch these two boys 😄 Great advice!!

On 1/8/2019 at 6:49 PM, Heidi13 said:

Kids arriving into Canada by land & sea can travel with a birth certificate. If you fly into Seatac and then cross into Canada by land, you should not require passports. However, if flying directly into Vancouver, as it is an International flight, a passport is required for everyone.

 

Some refer to this area as the Pacific North West, we prefer to call it the Pacific North Wet. Having lived around Vancouver for 40 years and completed a couple of full seasons working on Alaska cruise ships, the weather is best described as unpredictable. Temperatures should be in the 60's and low 70's, although we have experienced mid 90's in Juneau and Skagway. 

Wind can be flat calm to decent storms, however in June, storms are rare. Being Vancouver based you use more of the Inside Passage, than Seattle ships.

Rain - rarely been to Alaska and not experienced rain at least 1 day.

 

As other suggest - layers and a rain jacket

Thank you! This is very helpful!

On 1/8/2019 at 4:06 PM, XBGuy said:

I think that the clothing list that zqvol outlined provides good guidance for you.

 

We have taken four AK cruises and love them.  AK cruise number five is booked for this April, and AK cruise number six is booked for this September.

 

Rain in AK is certainly not unusual.  However, the only time we have encountered a serious storm we were at sea in the Gulf of Alaska.  Typically, rains that we have encountered in ports have been more annoying than anything else.  Often, it might be described as a "heavy mist."  I know that you are trying to be compact in your packing, but we always throw in one of those low-dollar collapsible umbrellas for when we are walking around the ports.

 

We have visited Icy Strait Point only once.  I am a bit of an outlier, but I think it is one of the coolest AK port stops we've ever made.  We did a combination Whale Watching/Bear Search tour that was offered by the cruise line.  The morning whale watching portion was pretty cool--a very spectacularly breaching humpback was the highlight.  In the afternoon we boarded a bus and rode for about 30 minutes,  We left the bus and followed a very cool path into the forest. We walked to a river where there are some very neat lookouts over the river to try to spot feeding bears.  We had to get to the third of the three lookouts before we found one.  Very cool.  BTW, the walk is not difficult, at all.  It is definitely not a "hike."  I did it in sneakers.  On the bus ride back to town, as we were approaching an overpass over the very same river, there were several stopped cars and people were standing on the overpass.  Sure enough, there was another bear down in the river.  We were much closer to this one and he was darned big. 

 

You're going to have a great time.

This sounds amazing. I can not wait to go!!

2 minutes ago, WisconsinFan said:

I think you are right as you are leaving from a foreign port. When our kids first got passports one was 16 and the other 11- so his renewal worked out right. What a fun time you will have!

 

What ports? So much to see and do. Our boys were less impressed with the gardens in Victora (we did a round trip) but loved Ketchikan, Sitka and Juneau. Not sure if they were as impressed with Glacier Bay as the rest of us!

Aww that is great! I am glad it worked out well for y'all. I hope it works out for us also. We are going to Ketchikan, Icy Straight Point, Juneau, Skagway, Hubbard Glacier and Seward. I really hope everyone has a good time. It will be very different then our usual Caribbean cruises (I assume anyway) We are excited about going!!

17 minutes ago, WisconsinFan said:

Yes, good thing is children's passports are a bit less expensive, bad thing with the kids this young, they are only good for 5 years. If that is an issue, a round trip out of Seattle would solve that problem 🙂

 

Yes that was one of the issues with it, that it does not last as long. But, we had already booked the cruise before we realized they would need passports 😞 So now we will be paying for that.  I read that if you are driving into Canada the kids just need birth certificates but if you are flying they have to have them. But, I feel like even if they can get into Canada without the passport by car they probably still wouldn't be able to get on the ship without one?

35 minutes ago, Schoifmom said:

Just to reiterate, all international air travel will require a passport.

OK thank you very much. It looks like we will be headed to the office for some passports.

1 minute ago, WisconsinFan said:

I see you are from Georgia, so your mileage may very. Being from Wisconsin the weather we had when we went in mid-June wasn't much different than what we left home in.

 

Wear your heaviest clothing on the plane. It will save you space in your bags- that would be any hiking boots, jeans, fleeces, and such. We had fleeces and then vests to go over our fleeces. We did not bring coats. With a turtleneck on underneath and mittens and hats we were perfect on deck sailing in Glacier Bay. On port days we may or may not have needed the vests, but always had our fleeces. Now, you need to know this week here in Wisconsin we hit 50 degrees and I saw many people running in shorts and t-shirts, so you may want something heavier.

 

We never had pouring rain, but we brought rain jackets (no pants, we were not going on any hiking trips) and I don't think we ended up using them but they were there if we needed them. We didn't pack wool socks, but again your mileage may vary.

 

Formal nights the ladies wore dress pants and nice tops and the men had ties and sport coats. We were able to do it with carry-ons and checked only our garment bag (for four).

 

I would love to go back to Alaska someday.

Wow that's great. I need to practice packing and I wont have so much luggage lol. I see what you mean about the difference in our weather. Thank you this information is very helpful. I am going to start a list! I cant wait to see Alaska

4 minutes ago, zqvol said:

Very easy:

 

Layers.

 

• Two or three layers for the top.
• Warm socks
• Shoes or boots that can get wet and dry very quickly.
• Hats
• Mittens or gloves
• Scarfs
• and most important a water proof outer shell.

 

Bring a back back to carry stuff when you are ashore. IN another month or so look at places like REI and Bass Pro Shop for some good deals as winter ends.

 

As far as passport, they will need them. No one can fly internationally without one.

Thank you, this is great information. When you say water proof outer shell do you mean a water proof jacket and pants? 

9 minutes ago, camille48 said:

i just went thru this last nite with same situation. My husband had to get refreshment package. i had to do the booking over the phone.

Ok, sounds good. Thank you for letting me know. 

7 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

You can imagine how many hundreds of excuses people have given RCCL why they don’t want the drink package for the second guest and half of these people end up sharing after they said they’d never do something like that.

Well your right. I can understand that. I hate that the dishonest people mess stuff up for the honest ones. But, I totally get it and if they don't let me get it then that's ok. I don't have to have it.

2 minutes ago, breezy_carol said:

I am going to follow along.  We have only done Caribbean cruises and are going southbound on Radiance in August.

 

From what I read, a lot of jeans, layered clothing, and walking shoes.  Seems like rain gear is important.  Swim suit for on the ship.

 

I think I will still bring a dress for formal night.

This is some of what I have read also. I want to be prepared for sure.

Hello everyone! We are going on an Alaskan 7 night north bound cruise out of Vancouver on the Radiance of the Seas in June 2019. We will be traveling with our two boys (3 and 8). I was wondering what do we need to bring? I have only done Caribbean cruises. The dress for those are easy (shorts, t shirt and bathing suite). What clothing and items would be good to pack? Any advice on younger children in Alaska? Any advice or information will be great appreciated.  Thank you so much. Also, does anyone know about the passport requirements for children when flying from the united states into Vancouver for the cruise? We have read conflicting information about whether we need to get them passports or just have their birth certificate with us. My husband and I have our passports.

2 minutes ago, MaddyandMax said:

You are going to have a very hard time without a medical reason.  I've had bariatric surgery and cannot drink alcohol or sugar (I'm one of the ones who dump immediately - for people who know about the surgery).  I had to not only get a note from my family doctor but also my surgeon's office.  I was able to buy the pop package instead (which I won't use but at least it's cheaper). You might have an easier time if you agree to buy the refreshment package.

oh wow. That is crazy they require so much documentation just for a drink package. I understand they don't want sharing but seriously. Thank you for your advice.

Just now, not-enough-cruising said:

He will have to buy the refreshment package. No wiggle room there in my experience. 

Ok, Thank you. I will give them a call 

1 minute ago, 37645 said:

 

Yes there is but it is not possible online. You would need to call them and order it that way. 

 

If he absolutely doesnt drink at all due to personal preference or religious reasons, then yes he doesn’t have to get the alcohol package but he might have to get the refreshment package or something, not positive about that part though. 

 

But I do know that you don’t have to get it for both of one of the adults doesn’t drink anything at all. 

Ok great. I will call and see if they will let me order it that way then. He is going to get the coke beverage card because he doesn't do coffee either, if they let us do it that way.(apparently he is not a normal adult lol) So, I will see what they say. Thank you for your info. 🙂

Hello! I was trying to book the deluxe beverage package for our upcoming trip on Royal Caribbean. However, it looks like it will only let me book it if I buy one for me and one for my husband. I understand the reasoning behind it ( I assume to keep people from sharing), but my husband doesn't drink. I am serious he just doesn't like the stuff. Is there any way to buy the package for me without having to buy him one? 

2 hours ago, dreadpirate3 said:

Keep checking for price drops. The lowest I have seen other than Black Friday was $20 per person, per day.

wow that would be an awesome price!! I wish I could find that for sure.

1 hour ago, TravisP said:

Here is a spreadsheet to calculate if it is worth it for you are not. 

Beverage Program Calculation.xls

Thank you so much. This is a great spread sheet. This will help a lot!

8 hours ago, zdad59 said:

My favorite topic.  Iamcruizin is spot on here.   Since you already have the .Refreshment package, water, fresh squeezed juice, and specialty coffee is already in your price.   If you figure you may have a drink at dinner and one at the evening show, you're already talking $20-$25 more a day.   So close, for me at least, that it makes sense to get the package...BECAUSE...the one thing I consider important is the "I don't have to worry about it" factor.  Should I get a drink?   How much am I spending? etc....with the package you don't have to worry about that, so even if you are within a couple of bucks of breaking even, the peace of mind of being on auto pilot makes it completely worthwhile.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

You make a great point. Part of the appeal of these packages (for me at least) is that I have the peace of mind to not have to pinch pennies or think about if I am spending more then I should on any type of drink. I like having it prepaid and then no more need to think about it. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much everyone! You all have been very helpful!! I love cruise critic. I can always get such great info and my questions answered. 

8 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Typical drink prices: Beer: $6.50 to $8.50, Basic well drinks: around $9, Fancy (blender, frozen, upper shelf) cocktails: around $12 to $13.  Add 18% for tips.

Thank you very much. These prices are helpful!

2 hours ago, Mandywin62 said:

Hi

 

Did RCL contact you in a sales email or did you happen to spot this on their website

I happened to notice the price difference last night while I was in cruise planner.