wolfie11

I can get tap water all over the ship. I can get iced tea, coffee, and Lipton tea at the International Cafe. I don’t go in the buffet ever, nor do I go to the shows (my choice, but I’ve also never gotten Noro or Covid on a cruise). I actually live quite well in steerage. I drink premium coffee, have my own soda and beer supply, get some “free” shore excursions, and eat a lot of gourmet local foods. I don’t drink much, don’t gamble, and hate shopping, so I hardly spend any money, which allows me to cruise more.

Brilliant Lady to Alaska for the win!

I recently saw that one of the cruise lines will start sailing south out of Boston, but can’t remember which one.

I believe it changed late last summer. Princess raised prices and started to charge for everything unless you fork out the extra ($60 per day?) for the plus package. I’m still holding firm on not buying extra packages but have pretty much been relegated to steerage because I don’t.

Unfortunately the hotel room that is reasonable at $250 in March goes up to $700 in the summer.

As I remember, the entrance fee to the Visitors Center is waived if you have a National Park pass.

Bennett Lake is amazing! It runs for miles. You stop at the old train station (now a museum) and have around 45 minutes to wander around or walk to the end of the Chilkoot trail. They also feed you a decent lunch and you get some time to explore Carcross. This is one of my favorite tours! If you go with Chilkoot they will also take you to Emerald Lake. I have also driven the highway many times. It climbs almost 3000 feet in elevation in fifteen miles. It’s a mountain pass with curves and a significant amount of large bus and motorhome traffic. The driver must pay close attention to the road. It’s fine on a nice day, but driving conditions can be very difficult on rainy, foggy days. It can snow on top of the pass most months of the year. Also, make sure you are in port long enough that if the car breaks down or there are problems at the border crossing you don’t miss the ship. It’s a beautiful drive and you have the advantage of being able to stop when and where you want for as long as you want. I highly recommend it if you have an experienced mountain driver and are prepared for changing conditions.

Not in Alaska. NCL is the only one building expensive docks in out-of-the way places. Anywhere they build will still need to be approved before the project is started. If you read the article you would see that there is already an appeal against the approval of this project and the people who actually live in Juneau aren’t very happy about it. Also, since the dock is inside city limits, they will have to abide by local cruise ship limits. And, btw, the people who live in Juneau neither need or want the low-paying temporary jobs the cruise lines offer.

NCL and Huna Totem have plans to build a new dock in Juneau. https://alaskapublic.org/2023/08/10/juneau-planners-approve-150m-waterfront-project-including-new-cruise-ship-dock/#:~:text=Norwegian Cruise Line purchased the,Huna Totem in August 2022.&text=Huna Totem's original proposal included,of one area still undecided.

Same here! I’ve been on most of those and a few others. Pacific Princess was always my favorite! I was on Royal Princess once and swore I’d never go on a ship that size again. My most recent cruises have been on Regent, Viking, and Virgin. I am pretty settled on Viking for most of my future cruises. I absolutely love Virgin but refuse to cruise in the Caribbean/Mexico or the Med in summer so that mostly lets them out. I did recently hear a rumor that they may start cruising in Alaska in the next few years, which would be awesome!

You must be from Alaska. You seem very confident in the fact that people in Ketchikan love having these huge ships visit their small community. I assume you know Ketchikan well, as you also know all the tours and times available. And that the people who run the tours and work in the stores will of course happily work 14 hour days seven days a week so they can give tours or run their business for the passengers who arrive at 6am or are there until 8pm. By the way, three out of the four ships that stop in Ketchikan (Bliss, Encore, and Sun) have a 1pm departure time.

The Natural History tour is rubbish. Don’t switch! The only good alternative to the Tundra tour is to get on a green shuttle bus that goes the same place as the Tundra tour.

I very much doubt the cruise will go to Mumbai. I assume it will follow the current route all the other cruise lines are taking around Africa to Madagascar or Mauritius and then to Australia either strait across the Indian Ocean or via Malaysia/Indonesia. Both Sky and Neptune are currently in South Africa on this route.

I was on a longer cruise recently. Lots of 60‘s I’d say. They were playing ABBA and KC and the Sunshine Band in the disco and it wasn’t oldies night so that should tell you something.

I asked and was told they’re working on it. It’s not exactly easy to reroute a ship to a seldom-cruised part of the world when every other cruise line repositioning ships to Australia and Asia is doing the same thing. It’s a much longer route, ports that can take cruise ships are fewer and further apart and may only be able to handle one or maybe two ships a day. I’m booked on in Mumbai October 24 and I’m not stressing about it, as I will be just as happy going either way. It’s not likely to be cancelled since the ship has to go to Australia anyway. Provisionally looking at safaris in South Africa and snorkeling on tropical islands in the Indian Ocean.

Well, there was that one time in Juneau a few years ago when the fog rolled in unexpectedly and the helicopters couldn’t retrieve anyone from the dogsled camps. The stranded passengers had to cuddle up with the huskies for the night! 🤣🤣🤣

This isn’t even about the cruise lines sailing to Alaska, although I think there need to be limits. This is about the PVSA which is the law that protects US shipping from cheap foreign competition. It’s the equivalent of not allowing foreign airlines to fly domestic routes.

Silversea docks at Ward Cove. For wildlife I’d do the Bering Sea crab fishermen tour.

Normally transfers are available through the shore excursions desk.

Wow! Did you catch your 170 pounds of salmon on rod and reel or did you dip net?

You can always skip the lecture. You’re on Princess so you’ll likely have a naturalist on board who knows the bay well (some are former rangers or scientists who have worked there). Offer to buy them a drink and pick their brain.

I liked them so much I bought one for my bathroom at home.

Yes. But I would check the daily schedule as timings may change.

Is the “local” price still $50 this year or did Huna Totem raise the rates?

I disagree with Don about Denali. It’s only 43 miles compared to the 70-odd miles you used to be able to do, but they are still some of the most beautiful and scenic miles in Alaska. People will tell you to wait until 2026 or 2027 until the road is fixed, but climate change is accelerating and who knows how long, if ever, it will be before the entire park is accessible again. However, if Denali is just a quick check off for you, don’t go. You need time in the park to appreciate it. Take the shuttle into the park. Drive to Savage River or Tek a few times in your car. Slowly. Take a couple of short hikes. Walk the Savage River trail in the evening when no one’s there. Listen to the river and the birds, look for Dall sheep on the mountains, and watch the marmots clowning around in the rocks. Denali has a lot to offer that you won’t find in the tourism madness that is Alaska these days.