rachelfran

The last time I was in Alaska was 2013 and my husband and I did an amazing excursion in Ketchikan to the Anan observatory with a misty fjords extension. It was amazing and I highly recommend. We saw bears eating the salmon swimming upstream and lots of eagles.

I am considering returning there on this next trip (without my husband 💔) and wondering if that is the best option for bear viewing or if there are others options that  folks recommend? It'll be in mid July.

On 8/9/2023 at 1:41 PM, FLCREW said:

We did this, Tongass National Forest - Anan Wildlife Observatory Site, 8 year ago and it was one of THE BEST excursion we have ever taken.  Not Cheap, but worth every cent.  Float plane there and then the walk to the observatory.  We are going to Alaska next year but Ketchikan is not one of our ports.  

 

Yes I did this years ago with family air - best day ever .. 

I've read there is a 2br configuration on the Ruby but I think you have to call them for it -- I don't think it's available on their website 

https://www.icruise.com/cabins/princess-cruises-ruby-princess-cabin-D105.html

thanks for the replies .. appreciated!

It's been a very long time since I've been on a Princess cruise -- and a bunch of my extended family is looking to book an Alaska cruise on the Ruby Princess.

I recall from back in the day that several lines would advertise black friday sales on drink packages so that was a great time to book them.  I know we are in a post pandemic world where lots of things have changed so I don't know if this is still a thing.   Does anyone have this experience from the last year or two?

Thanks,

Rachel

6 minutes ago, Gia2cats said:

Although it is cheaper to do a round trip from a US port such as Seattle, the chance of rough seas are much greater. I prefer Anchorage to Vancouver or vise versa. That is the true inside passage. 

Yes. This is exactly why I asked. This has been my impression from research I did years ago.. thanks 

Ok 

I think we were looking specifically at Alaska-Vancouver or Vancouver to Alaska VS 

San Francisco to Alaska ROUNDTRIP.

Not Seattle. 
 

any input there?

I did a princess cruise 10 years ago with my husband from Alaska to Vancouver after a self drive tour up to Denali and back and it was wonderful.
 

Some of my extended family are hoping to plan something for next year and a lot of the planning I did back then is now forgotten. Some of these folks are looking at sailing out of San Francisco to save money on airfare, and I do vaguely remember that one of the reasons we avoided that was because I had read that the seas are rough coming from that area up to Alaska.  I’m wondering if that memory is correct?   Should I steer folks away from that idea.  My sister will be almost 70 and has never been on a cruise. I suspect she’d be wary of any possibility of rough seas. 
 

thanks! 

I took an Alaska cruise 10 years ago aboard the Island Princess -- it was great but it's been a long time and I'm hoping to come back in 2024 with some of my family who have never been ... I'm wondering if folks have other favorites these days ... At the time we wanted the smallest mainstream cruise line that was affordable and offered a stop at Glacier Bay via the inside passage.  My sister will likely want the same so I'm just checking on folks favorites these days ...There will be no kids traveling and we'll likely do a Vancouver to Whittier or similar route.

Thanks for any input!

Rachel

How did your trip work out?

Last July I was supposed to go to a wedding in italy and right before it i booked a cruise with scenic to Prague with a few days after to explore... of course all of it was canceled ... The wedding hoped to rescheduled to 2021 but nothing was definite so I held off rebooking the cruise.  It looks like they won't be rescheduling the wedding... They got married in a small ceremony locally and invited no one.  So sad... but they are happy.  

I'm wondering if there has been any update on what sailings scenic is running anywhere in the world?  I've been shut up in my home for most of the last year and not up on much travel news since we were sure we wouldn't travel until things looked better all around. 

Thanks!

I’m booked on a Danube cruise on the scenic crystal .. we booked the junior suite on the sapphire deck but now that I’ve seen the review on cruise critic - I’m afraid we made a bad choice.  It says the shower is half the size to make room for a tub that we won’t use.  Can anyone comment on this? Are we better off with a deluxe balcony?  Thanks! 

1 hour ago, sbjornda said:

Do you have a Travel Agent? We used a 3rd party Travel Agent for our first Scenic cruise, and that TA easily found a Prague extension for us. If you're directly using Scenic as your Travel Agent, you can always phone them up and ask.

 

Best wishes.

 

Thanks -- I did call today and they do no provide the transfer if you don't buy their extension.

Wondering if Scenic will provide a transfer to Prague after the cruise if I don’t buy their extension? If not, is it easy enough to figure how to get from nuremberg to Prague?  I think it’s about $2500 more to do their extension.

thanks for your thoughts and/or experiences.

rachel 

Traveling end of June

considering the avalon illumination 11 Night - Active & Discovery on the Danube with 3 Nights in Prague in June 2020 as a first time river cruise ... has anyone done this one?  Anything I must know?  It seems like a very good value for money

compared to others like AMAwaterways and Uniworld .... are these similar lines, trips, excursions, food? Or am I very mistaken?  Thank for any advice you can offer.

I am headed to Europe for a wedding in Italy and hoping to do a 30th wedding anniversary trip before or after that occasion.  I prefer to NOT vacation in Italy and have always wanted to see Prague and Budapest.

Thank you for your insight!

Rachel

2 hours ago, Nitemare said:

Iceland is a huge birder's paradise, especially in the summer.

Yes -- it was amazing .. 

41 minutes ago, clskinsfan said:

The fjords in the above video actually remind me of a couple of days in an Alaskan cruise. Misty fjords in the Tongass national forest, which is an excursion in Ketchikan. And it also reminds me of Endicott arm or Tracey Fjord. So if you enjoyed those in Alaska it appears you would enjoy a Norwegian cruise. It is definitely on our bucket list. One thing I didnt see in the video is the Ice and wildlife you get in Alaska. But Norway certainly looks beautiful.

yes -- we did that excursion over misty fjords -- and I'm wondering about wildlife in the norwegian fjords -- are there a lot of birds?  A main interest of my husband's ... I know whales are further north than our ship is likely to go, unfortunately.

On 12/21/2019 at 5:53 AM, ollienbertsmum said:

We went to Alaska and I decided on a cruise to Norway because I am hoping to see more beautiful scenery.  I won’t be able to answer your question properly until July when I am back!  

 

However what do you think of the above video??  

 

An alternative as has been suggested is a Baltic Cruise.  We went a few years ago and absolutely loved it.  We went from Harwich but I think Copenhagen is a better departure port.  St Petersburg is the highlight and an overnighter.  There are companies that give you highlights over the 2 days which is a really good way to see the palaces.  

 

In the Baltic cruises there is history and scenery and fresh air - and Tallinn, such a lovely port to explore.  

Thank you .. Yes -- I am looking at other cruises .. We are limited as we need to be in Rome July 6-8 for a wedding so are trying to time something very close before or after that ... Also -- $$;  I think flying into Copenhagen or pretty much anywhere other than London or Amsterdam is going to be too pricey for us since we will also need to get to/from Rome.

On 12/21/2019 at 7:12 AM, Moby Jones said:

We've done Iceland and Norway cruises on Silhouette both times in aqua class. I'd always recommend aqua class primarily for Blu as long as it's not priced too much more over regular cabins. I've seen differences range between $50 and $1100 only this week on different itineraries! 

Norway is beautiful. The cruise is all about the scenery. You're correct about the views being different, obviously. As has been said being up early and enjoying the sail in is a must do. On land there are a few similarities. Both countries are beautiful though. Bergen is worth a visit. 

this particular cruise seems to have $1000 price difference pp on aqua over standard ... i guess that's considered not worth it in  your opinion?

3 minutes ago, ghstudio said:

Norway is very different than Iceland (we've done both).  The Silhouette is an excellent ship and aqua class very nice due to the Blu dining room.....but.....If you are going to do the coast of Norway, consider either Princess or HAL, both of which offer cruises that visit the North Cape.  Celebrity itineraries are not IMHO the best to see Norway.  

Thank you for this info .. We are not at all familiar .. so you think this is a better itinerary? https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details?voyageCode=3020

I don't think we have the time to get to the north cape...seems those cruises are 2 weeks long. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

We are very limited in when we can travel .. Having to be in Italy from July 6-8 and hoping to do this trip directly before or after.

We are considering a cruise to Norway from Southampton.  We have done an extended land trip on Iceland recently and have done a land/cruise in and around Alaska.

Is a trip to Norway too similar to these locations?  We don't get to do these types of trips all that often and I'm tasked with finding us a way to celebrate

our 30th wedding anniversary either before or after a wedding we've been invited to in Italy in July.  Generally opting for cooler temps in the summer I started looking 

north.

Would love your opinions and forgive me for being ignorant on the matter.  I know each area has it's own positives but with limited funds and time, I welcome your opinions.

Rachel

We are considering this cruise in June out of Southhampton.

We've never been on a Celebrity cruise before but are considering the Aquaclass cabin.

Does anyone have experience on this ship, this itinerary? Recommended? 

Also -- we recently did Iceland -- but on land.  We rented a car and did a lot of the island and wonder if a Norway cruise would be too similar?

I suspect not since views are different from the water but wondering if anyone has the experience to compare both?

Thanks for your thoughts.

On 5/14/2019 at 11:07 AM, LessWorkMoreTravel said:

We are booked to Anan Creek with Family Air (pilot/owner is Dave) in July.  Not sure what to do.  I think I"m going to let things settle down a little while they figure out what happened and then have a conversation with Dave about what he thinks.  I'm sure he knows the pilots involved and is reeling.  Such a tragedy. 

 

We have a glacier helicopter ride in Skagway also and that makes me nervous too.

flew with him several years ago and added on misty fjords on the way back .. felt very safe and secure.  Have a wonderful trip. I'll never forget those bears.

12 minutes ago, TampaGambler said:

Good try, but no. It’s not Royals job to run down everyone to make sure they are where they are supposed to be. 

 

Ive been on many cruises and they all beat a dead horse on time changes. 

 

You need to just be lucky they refunded you

Wow ... Not sure what your issue is -- we weren't the only ones left behind so there was a disconnect due to the late arrival of the ship.   Refunding us was the right thing to do and I'm glad it wasn't a problem.  

25 minutes ago, BND said:

I'm pretty sure Boston was their last stop which meant they had to go through immigration as it was their first stop back in the US after their foreign stop.

  Yes, this.  We were back from Bermuda so they did the passport check on arrival to Boston.

good try but no -- we set our clocks correctly as evidenced by the fact that we went  to immigration at the  time we were called.

Regardless, I still don't know why there isn't a list of booked passengers that they check off as they get on the bus ... At least they'd know if they were missing anyone.

I've worked in tour and travel and my husband is a tour guide who works with arriving ships in ny and nj on excursions  -- and he gets a manifest with all the passengers he should have ... 

I'll follow up with RCCL.

Rachel