new_cruiser

Windstar provided waterproof pants. I wore my waterproof Merrill Moab hiking shoes. Windstar also provided waterproof gloves. I didn't use their gloves. My fingers are short so non-stretchy gloves never fit right - lots of finger left over. Also, I wanted to be able to use the touch screen on my camera. So I brought wool fingerless gloves with mitten tops that fold back to expose the fingers. The wool got damp but stayed warm enough and I could use my camera with the gloves on, just flipping the mitten top back. My cruise was in May and there was often drizzle so the waterproof pants made the kayak and zodiac comfortable.

How is this excursion for someone without much kayak experience? My only prior experience with a kayak is some excursions from a Windstar ship in Kenai Fjords, Endicott Arm and Misty Fjords.

Some Alaskan small ship lines sail out of Juneau. E.g. Alaska Dream, Uncruise, and Lindblad have itineraries that sail terminate in Juneau.

Have you considered leaving from Vancouver instead of Seattle? The itineraries out of Seattle are a compromise to leave from a US port. Leaving from Vancouver, you get more time in Alaska ports or a second glacier visit, Hubbard Glacier.

She can also google for videos to help with how to do things with one hand. I broke my wrist on a cruise in Thailand. It was my dominant hand. I was solo on that cruise. Mine was a compound fracture and needed surgery so I was in a hospital for 3 days before returning home. I watched videos on line for things like how to tie shoes with one hand. I had shortish hair at the time. Maybe she can find something on how to do long hair with one hand.

Wind Surf seems to be slightly longer than the regulations - Wind Surf at 187 meters vs regulation at 180 meters. Also the mast height is way higher than the height limit.

We have a cruise in the fall on Wind Surf starting in Venice. Now that the 2023 season is started, I'm wondering whether Wind Surf is actually able to dock in Venice or if it has to dock somewhere else.

Interesting that you know what "most people are thinking" and that "everyone waits till the last minute." For many people, the much longer time for even the expedited process has come as a surprise - it used to be 3 weeks and now it's around 2 months. I guess that's partly to do with COVID backlogs and high demand with people resuming travel. In my case, I was just about to send mine in to be ready for a trip next autumn when my son's family found a last minute deal on a June Alaska cruise and I wanted to join them. When I was working, international trips were frequent enough that it was sometimes hard to find a window to send it in and it was always possible that a sudden need for a trip would come up so I always used an expediter to have my passport out of my hands only briefly.

When I checked for my recent renewal, the cheapest thing CIBT had if you needed a passport in less than 7 to 9 weeks was the within 14 days urgent process for around $700 plus the government's ~ $200 passport fee. There used to be something in between that cost less to get it in a few weeks because expedited was much shorter than it is now.

There are threads on passport renewals on th Ask a Cruise question part of these boards. This thread has people's recent experiences with renewals: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2938395-passport-renewal Have you already filed and now realize it may not arrive soon enough or are you starting now? If it's already submitted you can call and change it to the expedited process. Turn around time for the expedited process is stated as 7-9 weeks so if you are just starting now, you would need to use the urgent process which can't be started until travel is within 14 days. This thread has a detailed account of my experience with the urgent process. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2937469-same-day-passport-turn-around-time

You have it wrong. The enhanced Driver's License is good for land or sea entry but not air. See: https://www.dhs.gov/enhanced-drivers-licenses-what-are-they#:~:text=Enhanced Drivers Licenses (EDLs) are,technology that makes travel easier. OP make sure it's an Enhanced Driver's License, not just a RealID. People have gotten them confused at times. You can get a passport renewed quickly with the urgent process. It's a bit of a pain as you can only get an appointment when travel is within 14 days and you have to go to a passport office in person (or pay an expediter to do it for you $$). I just did this and it took most of the day (appointment in the morning and passport pickup in the afternoon).

TSA's website says magnets are fine in checked and carry-on.

1. I first called what I considered 14 days before - e.g. calling on the May 1 for travel on May 15. It turns out that the Passport office interpretation of "must be scheduled within 14 calendar days " is that the day you call counts as one of the 14. So I had to call back the next day. They gave me an appointment for 2 days before my departure. Shortly after I hung up, I realized I had an unmovable obligation already on that day. So I rescheduled the flight and called again 13 days before the flight. They again gave me an appointment for 2 days before departure and cancelled the first appointment. Meanwhile, a relative discovered she mislaid her passport, also called and got an appointment for 2 days before departure. We never had any trouble reaching the call center or getting an appointment despite the difficulty I've read others having. Possibly it is more of an issue for those who discover a problem closer to the travel date or at other offices. 2 The address in the confirmation email: 450 Golden Gate Ave. I put that in Google Maps and it took me right there. Issuing passports is a function of the Department of State. The SF Passport Office is on part of the 3rd floor of the Phillip Burton Federal Building. 3. Yes there is parking nearby. I parked at a garage at 376 Larkin Street which is probably the closest garage to the office. There is also a parking under Civic Center Plaza. The garage where I was is $8 per hour but maxes out at $32. I think Civic Center Plaza might be a few bucks cheaper. I was ready to be out of the car by then and parked at this one because it was convenient. 4. Ike's Japanese Kitchen, 800 Van Ness (about 3 blocks from the passport office). It's fairly upscale, I'm sure there are some nice more budget choices around, but this was really nice. I enjoyed my sushi there a lot. BTW, if you want some place to hang out between your appointment and passport pickup rather then going to a museum or shopping, the Public Library is on the block next to the Asian Art Museum.

If all the offices follow the same protocol, your same day passport probably will be ready some time between 2 and 5 PM regardless of your appointment time. (I expect they close at 5 and plan to get all passports ready by then.) They won't want you to camp in the passport office. They told people to leave and not return until the pickup time. The office was pretty full most of the time so they don't want extra bodies hanging around. If there is a cafeteria in the building, you might be able to hang out there. Or you could plan on taking the Metro to one of the Smithsonian museums for a few hours to while away the time or, if you want to work, going to an internet cafe that will let you hang out with your laptop for the price of a coffee or two and maybe lunch.

I forgot to say above that I was out of the passport office shortly before 11:30. Most of that was the check-in line and waiting to be called. Time at the windows was pretty brief. I treated myself to a belated Mother's Day sushi lunch nearby and then spent a couple of hours at the Asian Art Museum because it was just a couple of blocks away. When I returned at 3 PM, everyone there was doing passport pickup. The line was pretty long. Apparently, passport appointments are all in the morning (and maybe early afternoon). I asked whether appointment time determines pickup time and the said everyone is told to come back at either 2 or 3 PM. When you check-on for passport pickup, they give it to you if it's ready. If it's not ready, they give you a number and wait for it to be called. There were around 100 people waiting for their number to be called. Mine was called at shortly before 4 PM. Once you are called, it's pretty quick - you sign for it, go off to the side to check the info page and leave.

Following the link on my appointment confirmation email for "Building Entry Requirements" and expanding the topic "arrive early for your appointment" includes: "We suggest you arrive 15 minutes early to go through security screening. You must show valid government ID to enter the building. Weapons (including knives of any size and pepper spray), food, and drinks (except water in a sealable bottle) are not allowed. Anticipate a line at the building entrance." That's a page for the San Francisco office, but it's probably similar for other offices. My appointment was for 11:30. I wanted to be on time and traffic makes the travel time to downtown San Francisco highly variable, I ended up arriving at the building a little after 9. It was 9:30 by the time I got through the security screening line and passport office entry line (where they check that you have am appointment before letting you in). The guard said come back at 10 (presumably to control occupancy of the office). He suggested going to the cafeteria in the building to wait. When I came back at 10, there was no line outside the office. I checked in giving them my form, old passport and proof of travel. They gave me a number and I sat down until called. I was called, paid by credit card. They said that, because my home is more than 100 miles away, they will have my passport ready the same day. They gave me a paper to bring back at 3 PM to get my passport.

There are plenty of whales to see out of Seward - some resident pods plus migratory ones there for the summer. I'd agree more with you on Ketchikan, though there was a whale with us in Misty Fjord when I was on a kayak excursion - so they are around but perhaps not as densely populated.

Not the DC office, but I'll have experience with in person renewal at the San Francisco office soon. I have an appointment for tomorrow. A trip with came up just as I was about to renew my passport for a trip this fall so now I need to use the Urgent process for the first trip.

I took the free shuttle into town. Then walked along the water to the Sitka National Historical Park, went to the Visitor Center (they had some artisans working on native crafts) folliwed by the totem pole hike. Then decided to backtrack to the Sheldon Museum instead of walking to the Raptor Center. I called a taxi from there which took me to the Raptor Center and came back to take me to the Fortress of the Bear and back to the ship. As a bonus, the taxi driver spotted whales in the inlet on the drive from the Fortress and we stopped briefly to watch them.

Chichogof Island is the island ISP os on, so that's where you are when at ISP.

You can stroll into town and see Fort Seward (buildings around a parade ground) and then over to the Hammer Museum. The Museum website says it is open evenings when a ship is in town.

One thing I've realized is that when an excursion title includes "watch" (e.g. whale watching), it means that seeing the animal is close to 100%. When the title has "search" (e.g. bear search), the search may or may not succeed, like the 50% that the bear excursion company gave you. The upside is that bears are widely distributed in Alaska and you have a chance of seeing is possible almost anywhere. We saw 3 bear cubs next to Steep Creek Trail very close to the drop-off for Mendenhall Glacier. Mama had left them there while she went farther off foraging. Ranger's were on hand making everyone aware of safety. The Mendenhall Glacier is fairly far from the trails at Mendenhall and not as spectacular IMO to Hubbard or Kenai Fjords because of the distance, but the trails there are very nice easy hikes and there is the chance of seeing wildlife. I almost saw a porcupine on the Trail of Time (June) - the people ahead of me saw one but it had moved on by the time I got there. Later in the day, I did get to see one from a trail at the top of the Mt. Roberts tram.

Picardin works just as well as DEET and doesn't have the issues of DEET - it's non-greasy, doesn't smell (to humans at least) and doesn't damage plastics. Back to the original question, I brought bug repellent when I went to Alaska in May and in August but didn't need it either trip. It is nice to have along if you do need it. Picardin repellent is available in small TSA carry-on size bottles and one of those has always been more than enough for a trip for me.

My cruise was 14 days mid-to-late May several years ago. It was cloudy almost every day but I don't recall any downpours. It was drizzly at times - my light breathable rain shell got plenty of use, but the rain wasn't heavy enough to make trails muddy or interfere with enjoying Alaska. It was glorious toward the end of our cruise when we finally had a sunny day.

I've got a question for anyone here who has done this excursion. This excursion starts at 9:30 from Skagway with the catamaran to Hanes. It's shown as 6 hours 30 minutes so it would end at about 4 PM For our cruise, Radiance of the Seas is in Skagway during the day until 5 PM and from 7 PM the ship is in Haines. The excursion description doesn't mention taking the catamaran back to Hanes. Does it go back to Skagway or do they leave you on your own Haines until the ship arrives that evening?