wolfie11

Two ships are allowed in the bay per day. The pilot boat brings all the rangers out together for both ships. The ships are given a time to enter the bay about a half hour apart to give the pilot boat time to drop off one set of rangers and then drive over to the second ship to drop off the rest. This is also to put some distance between the ships so you’re not looking at another giant cruise ship all day. Arrangements on order are usually made the morning of. Sometimes there will be a southbound ship coming from Anchorage. They have further to go so they usually arrive around 10:00 am. It takes around two hours to get to the glacier area from the entrance. During this time the rangers set up a “visitor’s center,” where you can buy books and souvenirs. Please spend generously, as this money goes right back into education in the parks. They usually have great kids books. One ranger will give a lecture and another will be doing a commentary from the bridge. This all goes quickly, so an effort to be up and about will be worthwhile. The ship spends a couple of hours in the glacier area before heading down the bay. Animals that can be seen are humpbacks, orca, dolphins, porpoise, seals, sea lions at South Marble Island, otters, lots of birds including the occasional puffin, mountain goats at Gloomy Knob, brown bears on the beach, especially in Tarr Inlet, and the odd wolf. If you don’t have binoculars don’t even bother to try to spot animals. These are a bonus and the ship’s not going to stop for them.

If you like beaver tails check out Doughboy in Skagway!

Last summer on the Crown, they had an hour of taped music in Club Fusion. I think maybe one couple would show up. If you are an enthusiastic ballroom dancer, try Cunard. They have tea dances in the Queen’s Ballroom at high tea as well as numerous ballroom dancing sessions

If it’s a HAL excursion it should start close to where the ship is docked.

I was on Crown Princess last summer. We went outside when the last port was Sitka. We then went inside Vancouver Island but the weather was bad so that may have been an exception.

The Royal class Princess ships aren’t allowed to sail inside Vancouver Island because of propulsion and steering limitations. They sail about 20 miles out to sea in the Pacific headed north and south. There is usually some swell even in good conditions.

No. You can't make an exception for a fleet (68 cruise ships in Alaska this summer) of foreign-owned, foreign-registered ships who pay no taxes, violate any number of US labor laws, don't have to adhere to US Coast Guard safety standards (they answer to IMO) and would happily not see a dime of passengers money spent in the local economy if they could help it.

If you plan to rent a car, book soon as they only have a few and will run out. Expect to pay $250 - $300 a day.

Royal isn't allowed to use the inside passage of Vancouver Island because of her maneuvering limitations. You'll be rocking and rolling in the open seas both ways. You won't be in the Inside Passage until you get to Alaska, and even there she has some restrictions. Download the Cruise Mapper app and you will always be able to see where you are.

A lot will depend if there's another ship in port. When I was there last summer it took almost three hours to transport 3200 people. That was from the time we docked to when the line was down to 50 people.

Not true. Almost 700,000 people live in the Anchorage area and Whittier is the closest access to Prince William Sound. Something like 500 boats are moored or based in Whittier. On a nice summer weekend another thousand boats will head down the Seward Highway. There is a lot of traffic in and out of Whittier. An accident can close the road down for hours. I would aim to be in Whittier as early as possible.

The train from Denali arrives around 6:30 - 7pm. You will want to be on before then.

Shore fishing is possible in some ports when the salmon are running but you will need to bring your own gear, buy a license and salmon tag, and be aware of all the local fishing regulations.

I have also never brought hiking boots with me on an Alaskan cruise. A good walking shoe or trail runners work fine.

Totally different things. 26 Glaciers is a shore excursion out of Whittier. These are Allen Marine boats that pick you up off the ship, take you up close to the glacier, and then return you to your ship or the nearest port.

Weather balloons are fine. As mentioned, they are biodegradable. And in fact, Moby Duck turned out to be a useful (but hopefully never repeated) scientific experiment. But many people will bring a few ducks to hide on Walmart of the Seas. If 10% of people do this on a 5000 passenger ship, that’s a thousand or more ducks every week! I think many of those ducks, either deliberately or accidentally, get released to find a new home in the sea. As for decorated doors, who cares as long as they’re not damaging or defacing the doors and they keep their political and religious beliefs to themselves?

I had an interesting conversation with someone from Virgin last time I was onboard. It turns out people in their 50’s and 60’s really like sailing on Virgin. With the new ship coming out they will be doing more 7-10 day cruises to cater to the older demographic in the Med and Caribbean.

Ducks are cheap Chinese plastic c**p and some of them invariably end up in the ocean, which has too much cheap Chinese plastic c**p floating around in it already. But hey, if that’s your thing, go for it. Maybe you could release some balloons off the ship while you’re at it.

Dutch Harbor is not a cruise port nor does it want to be a cruise port. It is a fishing town with a hotel, bars, and lots of commercial fishermen. I’d be shocked if they had half a dozen buses in town and if they do, they’re probably old school buses. It’s a really interesting place with a cool history and a lot of eagles, but not much to do for cruise passengers. They are also famous for their police blotter ( google NPR “Small Town’s Police Blotter is a Riot”). There may be some activity going on in town and the buses simply aren’t available. BTW, Dutch is the 2nd most frequently missed port in the world after the Falkland Islands because of weather.

No bear spray. It’s in the same category as a loaded gun and considered a weapon. You can’t take it on public transportation or the ship. It’s also fairly expensive ($80-$100).

If people in Juneau didn’t go out in the rain, the entire town would come to a standstill. Although it can pour, most days it’s a light, sometimes misty, rain. It can be foggy as well, but that just adds to the beauty of the landscape. The roads are perfectly normal, paved roads. There will be other cars, people riding bikes, etc. If the conditions are extreme, there will be warnings. Also, people in Juneau are really nice and will stop to help if you have difficulties. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been an instance of a tourist in Juneau being trapped on a deserted washed-out road with the wolves howling around the vehicle and hungry bears trying to pry off the doors! 🤣🤣

I don’t think they do that anymore. Not much glacier left to walk on.

It depends on which dock you’re at. From Broadway docks it’s about a 10 minute walk. You can also take the Smart bus that stops at each of the docks. $5 for an all day pass around town. $15 out to the cemetery.

If I was renting a car I wouldn’t bother with the very touristy salmon bake, but find a great local restaurant in the Valley or Auke Bay. My favorite is the halibut and chips at the Sand Bar.

Actually you can. There’s cell service as you go by Haines and Hoonah, near the mouth of Glacier Bay, and places near Ketchikan by Metlakatla and Prince of Wales Island. You just have to be careful the ship doesn’t turn on the ship cell tower as your phone will immediately override to that service and $$$!