Jeremiah On a Cruise

I'd say that there are four general options: A travel agent with a discount broker will typically be able to get you a discount on the posted rate. However, their service is typically polite but limited to booking - they are unlikely to provide much support beyond that. I recommend that you know exactly what you want, including dates and staterooms, if going this option. A travel agent with a customer-focused broker will typically match the cruise line's price, but will provide excellent service, and help locating (or even booking) excursions, talking through different cruise lines, different ships, destinations, options, rebooking, etc. Note that a travel agent who doesn't provide a discount, and doesn't provide these services, should be fired IMO. Booking through a travel agent at the cruise line will typically match the posted price, but will provide excellent service on the cruise. I've found these agents top-notch at getting difficult to find staterooms, preferred dining times, and things like that. They also have access to some unique discounts that may not be available via other paths (e.g. casino rates). However, they typically charge full price, and are obviously limited to a single cruise line. Booking directly remains an option that some love. Here, the traveler will pay full price, but may have more control over their booking. If you want control and don't mind paying full price, this is a great option. Note that this is the only option I haven't used, but I know people who swear by this approach. Hope that helps.

I've made the executive decision to not fret about cruise ship apps. Several lines have killer ideas with great functionality, but none of them are working as intended yet, and all are working through major issues. Until those are ironed out, I'll stick with paper, and spend my gray hairs other places.

Sorry - different splash park. There looks to be a smaller splash park just about 1500 ft west of Canada Place, near what looks to be a small park. It's not nearly as nice as the park you mentioned, but we'd feel better staying walking distance from the pier.

ooOOOOhh! My family loves loves loves Soar'n, and I didn't know that there was anything like it outside of Disneyland. We will definitely try and do this!!!

@martincath and @Northern Aurora Thanks again for this. I think we have our plans finalized: Will leave Everett around 7A and get across the boarder around 8:30 or 9:00. We'll cross at Lynden as my boys really really hate the chaos, crowds, and lines of the I5 crossings. We will get to the pier around 10:00, and park in Canada Place (parking already purchased) and drop off our bags at that time, but will not start checking in just yet. We will then spend the next few hours walking around the waterfront in Vancouver. We'll hit the Chat Time (bubble tea) first, and then west walk along the Sea Wall Water Walk, grabbing lunch somewhere (Cactus Club Cafe?) and probably spending some time at Spray Park. But, we'll stay within about a 15 minute walk from the pier. We will target being back to the pier at 1:30. Our boarding pass says that we must be onboard by 3P, so we'll start fretting if we aren't in line by 2:00. Hopefully, 1:30 will be early enough to have plenty of wiggle room/not be worried, but late enough to miss most of the rush, and to meet our luggage in our prepared room.

We've only sailed with our kids on Princess, but found their kids club very good. Actually, we have sailed on several lines with our kids, and found most of the at sea kids clubs outstanding. Our kids, who are around the ages of your kids, loved them. Though, none of these will be quite the level of Disney, which is clearly a step up. However, I would not call any of these programs educational. RC has an amazing reputation for kids, and will probably have more families than the other options. Their sweet spot is probably 12-18, though they will definitely cater to, and offer good services for a 6-11 year old. We've tried to book them several times, but don't love her itineraries and found their rates for a good cabin too high, and spent a similar amount on a more premium line. This will be the most lively of the options listed. I can't speak to the Encore as I've never cruised on her, nor seriously researched her. Another option is the Celebrity Eclipse. If you're open to leaving from Vancouver, the Celebrity Eclipse has a great itinerary, and is actually my kids' favorite ship. Frankly, it may be my favorite ship as well... Some, but not too may kids. Adult focused but do a great job catering to kids. Fancy but comfortable. She will be slightly older than the other cruise options, but is a great ship with ideal connecting cabins.

@martincath Wow! First - a huge thank you. Lots of info here that I didn't know. We are there July 29 - the same day as the Grand. There are two other ships in port that day, including the Ocean Victory (very small) and the Nature (arriving much later). We will be coming from Everett on the day of the cruise. It's a Saturday so we don't anticipate much traffic until the boarder. We plan to pass a Lynden to avoid the crowds, but are open to Sumas if you think that's better. We avoid crossing on I5 whenever possible. With that said, props for referencing Nehalem - that's my old stomping grounds and one of my favorite little towns in WA. I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't know the 2:30 deadline. We typically board super early, but are traveling with kids, so our priorities are different this go. Do you think checkin at 1:30 will have a quicker time boarding than a checkin of 10 or 11? If 2:30 is the hard stop, 1:30 is as late as I would want to plan for. But, if the wait is 90-120 minutes regardless of when I check in, it may be worth it to board early and have lunch onboard. Again - thanks!

We will board the Konnsingdam in a few weeks (YAHHOOOO!!!) with a scheduled departure time of 4:30. We will be driving to the pier and already have parking reserved at Canada Place. We will have a ~3 hour drive from WA state, but can get there as early as 10A or 11A without issue. We are pretty worried about long waits at the pier, and are trying to plan the day to avoid the rush and lines. We hope to plan the day around getting through parking lines, check-in, security, and customs as quick as we can. We aren't in a huge rush to get on board, and are open to walking around the city for a few hours, or spending some money to be entertained if you have any suggestions. We have a few general options and welcome your thoughts: Park at 10A and check in ASAP. Park at noon and check in ASAP. Park at 2P and check in ASAP (is this cutting it too close?) Park at 11A, drop off the luggage, and walk around the city for a few hours. Check in around 3:00P. Other options. I welcome your thoughts.

My view on excursion tipping: Only around half of the people tip on group excursions, with 15+ people. I'd consider this truly optional. If you choose to tip, $5 - $10 per person is in the normal realm, with $20 per person being very generous. Personally, we tip $0 to $20 based entirely on service, with $10/pp being the norm. On smaller, more private excursions, I would say that it's very different. If you've chartered a tour guide, or boat, or something, I would say that tipping is the norm and expectation. The tipping amount also increases; I'd say 5% of the excursion cost is on the low end, around 10%-15% is probably standard. I've gone as high as 25% on these, but that was a special circumstance (four person boat, overly generous captain, lifetime experience, etc.). If you're looking for a guideline, I'd say 10% is a good starting point. But, neither of these are hard-and-fast rules. For example, we do a flight/bear watching excursion that is $400/person, and includes both a flight and walking portion. I don't think I've ever tipped a pilot (I actually worry that it would be insulting), but I'm not going to tip the walking guide $40/per person (~10% of the cost). As a final note, I'd highlight that tipping on excursions is different in the US than tipping on food, drinks, housekeeping, etc. where tipping is the norm and is expected.

You, my friend, just made my day :).

@visagrunt Loving your reviews! Do you know if the northbound portion of the trip went on the East or West side of Vancouver island? All of the maps show the trip on the East/inside passage side, but I've read reports from others that earlier trips this year on the Kon. went on the west side of the island (i.e. into the open ocean). Again, thank you.

Wow - this is amazing! I also love your idea of booking both the train and the bikes for the trip down, knowing that you'll simply overpay and not use one of the two. Money isn't the big concern here - an awful experience is 🙂 Anyhow, just wanted to say thanks,

Great info! Outside of the first 30 minutes that can be walked, would the trail be OK for kids? Ours are ages 9 and 11. Both can ride a bike, but would struggle with even modest climbs, and neither has done anything resembling mountain biking. I've love your thoughts or additional details.

Thanks for the info. How does seating the Club Orange section work on P ships? Are there reserved times like in the MDR? Or, is it open without reservations like Blu on Celebrity or Club Class on Princess?

FYI - we did the Majestic (a sister to the Discover) to Cabo in the Spring, had to take the water shuttle to shore there, and had a 2 hour wait for the shuttle off the ship. I'm not sure if that's a function of the port, the class of ship, dumb luck, or some combination of those - but I wanted to give you a heads-up as you plan the day.

I was there last week, and rented a car from Skagway and drove into the Yukon without issue. Here's how: When completing the ArriveCan app, we did not mention Skagway or the Yukon in any way, and could not find a place to do so. We simply completed our ArriveCan, as instructed by our cruise line, based on our start and end ports and corresponding flight plans. I also couldn't figure out how to add an additional entry for the Skagway-to-Yukon drive prior to boarding, and I'm pretty sure that there is no place to do so in the app. After renting the car, when we got the boarder, the Canadian guard took our passport, and when he ran it, he commented that "it looks like you've already completed the Arrive Can app, so you're good there." We were allowed to cross without issue. The requirements are constantly changing, but as of last week, this was basically a non-event for us.

I've been on both a few times. I would agree with others that Celebrity tends to have slightly better food - both in terms of selection and quality in the MDR and buffet. Blu (and I presume Luminae) also offers a vastly superior dining experience than Club Class for premium staterooms. Entertainment is mostly equal, with maybe a slight edge to Princess. The smoke free casino is a big plus for Celebrity. Service is superior on both, but I've found it to be slightly more reliable on Princess. I strongly prefer Celebrity ship designs over Princess. The layout, flow, and décor of Celebrity, in both the cabin and public areas, is typically much much nicer. Princess has some snazzy and luxurious features (e.g. they do the atrium as well as anyone), but overall - I have a strong preference for Celebrity. Similarly, Celebrity ships are often more intuitive and less crowded than Princess. Granted, my favorite two ship classes I've ever been on are the Celebrity M and S classes (I haven't got on an Edge class yet.) The crowds on Celebrity tend to be a bit younger, more hip, more diverse, more liberal, and less formal than Princess. You can decide if these are good or bad. No offense intended, but I prefer the pre-cruise experience of Princess. Their website tends to be better, their rollcalls larger, and forums more active and friendly, and their groupies more positive. Princess has always felt like a bit more of a polished company off the ship. On the ship, they are both great. (note that both are going through major issues the last few years due to staffing) Technology/features is a push. Princess is miles ahead with their Medallion approach when it works - though the technology is highly unreliable, and has turned into much of a stressor than a feature. Itinerates are often better on Princess. I live on the west coast, and Princess offers much better itineraries to Alaska and Mexico. Celebrity is, appropriately, but slightly more expensive. Ultimately, both are great. Personally, I'll pay a bit more, and accept a slightly worse itinerary to sail with Celebrity over Princess - but thousands of people make the other choice each day - and I'm not about to fault them for that.

We've been to AK many times (8?), have probably seen over 1000 whales, done many nature-based excursions/drives, and only seen bears in the wild once in AK - and that was on a float plane tour to Traitors Cove out of Ketchikan. This was a great trip for multiple reasons (float plane, nature walk, and bears - oh my!), and was one of the two best excursions I've ever had in AK. These trips are very spendy (~$450/pp) and I don't recall seeing them offered through the cruise ships, but if this is a priority, check out Island Wings Air Service in Ketchikan. Herring Cove, which is a 20 minute drive from Ketchikan, tends to be one of the best, free, places where you may spot bears on your own. This is right next to a fish hatchery, so fish, and hence bears, frequent the area. However, viewing isn't guaranteed, thus there aren't a lot of excursions from the ship that take you there. And, getting there-and-back on your own is actually a bit of a logistical challenge that I've never bothered to solve. We've only been to Herring Cove once, and frankly, didn't have a great time. I also know that there are bear viewing excursions out of Icy Straight Point, but in the past when I've looked at those, they have not had glowing reviews. I know that many others have had better luck than us spotting bears from the ship, in fishing trips, from a train, on other boats, on hikes, etc.. So, there's a chance that you'll spot a bear by simply being engaged outside of the towns. I just haven't been that lucky yet.

Reading through the thread, Celebrity is a good option (and a better fit than most others), but I would actually encourage you to consider Holland America for two reasons. First, I would argue that the music on Holland America is the best in class. It's highly varied, typically with a jazz group, classical group (quartet?) and billboards/piano pair - all of which is really high end. Celebrity has good musicians, but fewer than Holland America, and they seem to rely on a DJ more than Holland America. Second, you can't find a more relaxing line than Holland. I prefer Celebrity over Holland America, but for sitting and enjoying a glass of wine, or finding a peaceful place to read - Holland America is perfect. I know that they have an old person reputation, and while that's partially true, we typically see plenty of others in our age range (we are in our early 40's), and a big crowd in the 40-60 range. I'm not trying to dissuade you from Celebrity, as that is my preferred line. But if you're looking for music and relaxation - Holland America may better fit the bill.

Are you on Holland America? I was with them a few years ago and was super confused by how they set up their itinerary on the Juneau/Tracy Arm Fjord date, or what the excursions entailed. But, when I was onboard, I figure it out. The excursion boards about an hour before Juneau. A small boat come alongside the cruise ship, and several people (50?) got on a small boat bound for Tracy Arm. The excursion lasted many hours, and brought the people back to Juneau afterwards. The cruise ship didn't go into Tracy Arm. I didn't do it, but heard a few things. First, it was great. Second, they entirely missed Juneau. Third, they would only ever do it booked through the cruise line due to the length and risk of missing the ship.

Instead of trying to give you a single itinerary, here are some general thoughts: *One way trips tend to have more time seeing ideal things and time in port. But, logistics to get to/from Anchorage are difficult. *Vancouver tends to be the preferred over Seattle due to it's close proximity to AK, and typically, better times in piers. Though again, logistics at the pier, and even at the airport, can be more difficult than those in Seattle. *Best whale watching it from Juneau or Icy Straight Point/Hoonah. *Best bear watching, probably best fishing, is from Ketchikan. *Skagway may have the best scenery - both with the trip in the fjord on the cruise ship, and up the mountain on the train (or, as I suggest, a rented car). *Glacier Bay is often thought of as the best site to see in all of AK Cruises. It's a full day extravaganza. *I've found Hubbard Glacier to be even more awe inspiring than Glacier Bay - though it's a briefer say, and more of a one-trick pony. *I strongly prefer SB cruises so that I can "rough it" first, and then relax on the cruise ship after. *Victoria BC is often thought of as the least interesting AK stop. This stop is done to meet legal requirements for ships out of Seattle, but doesn't have the same draw as AK stops. *Sitka is a smaller player in the AK Cruise circuit. You'll need to tender there, and options aren't as abundant as the stops listed above. *Leaving from SF give you several more days on the water, but not much more time in AK. *Some cruises do one of the arms/fjords (e.g. Tracy Arm). I find these nice, but are a large step down from the glaciers mentioned above. These arm tend to have a glacier at the end, but the glacier is smaller and further out than others. But, the fjords are quite nice with towering mountains to the sides. Be mindful that some lines imply that they go into the fjords when they don't (looking at you HAL). What the right itinerary is for you, depends on what you're looking for.

Highly variable topic, and I encourage you to make your own choice. But, here's my approach. We bring about $100-$150 in cash for onboard tipping. We typically tip $1-$2 for virtually any food or beverage service (fairly common), and ~$5 after each meal in the MDR (this one is not common) - maybe $10 for a specialty restaurant (fairly common). We will tip our room steward $20 early in the cruise (not very common), and $0-$50 at the end (very common). We tip our wait staff (2-3 people) $0 - $40 per person at the end (pretty common). Some people don't tip anything above the standard gratuity, and I'd argue that's 100% fine. Some people tip upwards of $400 on a 7 day cruise, and I'd argue that's awesome.

Maybe formal is in the eye of the beholder. For non-formal nights, I wear dockers and a button down shirt - and I am probably slightly over dressed. But even this outfit would be accepted on formal nights. On formal nights, I typically wear a suite (blue) - complete with jacket and/or vest. Again, I am probably slightly over dressed most of the time, but not abnormally so. Formal attire, such as tuxes or formal black suits, are not very common in my experience. You'll see them, and they are accepted but they are far from the norm or expectation. Enjoy.

Probably a silly question, but can we still drive into the Yukon? I'm not sure what testing requirements, or closures, or the like are in place due to Covid. As context, we are southbound from Anchorage to Vancouver, and will complete the ArriveCan for our trip the day before we board. Fully vaccinated, and will test 48 hours before boarding (closer to 4 days before Skagway).