Ladyaruba

Just put your phone in airplane mode and you will be fine.

Thank you.

It's not an 'app' per se, but HAL's ships offer an intranet site called 'Navigator' where you can set up an account on your wireless device. Use of the site is free and doesn't use data.

 

On the site you can review daily activities, highlight ones you're interested in, book shore excursions, make dinner reservations and as ThePenguin1 mentions, check your onboard account.

 

We found it a very useful tool during our recent Oosterdam sailing.

Sounds good, thank you!

So here's a question I don't remember seeing addressed here: if I book flights through HAL, are transfers to and from the ship included, or would that still be a separate service?

I booked flights and trip thru HAL and our transfers are included.

The game we play is to purchase the SBP, get coffee in the morning, have drinks all day through dinner etc.. then Log into your account see how many drinks you have left, go to the closest bar and purchase cans of soda, bottles of water to take back to your cabin to cap out your 15 drinks.

 

So the next day we have cans of soda/water etc during the day without using your 15 expensive(Alcoholic) drinks, repeat daily for the rest of the cruise.

How do you log into your account? On the TV in your room or an app?

A quick search reveals:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2380485&highlight=Sprint

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2504512&highlight=Sprint

 

and many other threads.[/quote

 

I did do a search first but didn't find the answer that I was looking for so that is why I asked! I am not concerned about wi fi, just the phone service itself. Most everything I read concerned wifi and data.

If your not using your for anything other than taking pictures, you will need to keep it in airplane mode to prevent incoming calls and texts.

Thanks!

I only plan on using the phone itself when we are off ship.

Anything ne know how Sprint works in Alaska?

Our first cruise so we decided to get the drink package mostly because of the convienence and not having to keep track of how much we are drinking!

Having a couple Bloody Mary's with breakfast, trying some specialty coffees, getting bottled waters to take on tours, drinks with dinner and a few more at the bar, we should be covered!

i want to use my phone on the ship but only to take pics.

Not too tech savvy but assume I need it in airplane mode so as not to incur charges?

:loudcry:

If you can afford an Alaskan cruise you can afford to spendmore than $50 on binoculars. Isn’t thata bit presumptuous?

I agree! Why spend a ton of money on something you may never use again.

At least with your trip, you are taking photos and making memories!

I strongly disagree with this statement. If your budget is $50, then the BushnellPermaFocus binoculars are good. However,if you can afford an Alaskan cruise, then you can afford more than $50 forbinoculars. If you are reading thisthread, then you are probably interested in seeing animals and willing to spenda bit more. I suggest that you do spend abit more.

 

Short story…

PermaFocus is not ideal. There isa reason almost all binoculars have manual focus.

Roof prisms are much more compact than porro prisms.

I like 10x50 for Alaska. Mywife does better with 8x42.

Budget binocular = Wingspan 10x42 Voyager/Eagle Scout for $74

Midrange binocular = Hawke 10x50 Endurance ED for $240

 

Long story…

I remember being on the top deck in front of the glaciers in GlacierBay. Someone was pointing out seals onthe ice. I could see them great. The lady next to me complained she could notmake them out clearly. I traded her binocularsand she was surprised how big of a difference they made. Then her husband used my binoculars and was surprisedat the difference. Since we were sittingstill and everyone was standing around, over a dozen people used my binoculars. And I tried theirs. A little more money on better binoculars wenta long way that day, that cruise, and many years later.

 

I remember looking at sea otters at 75 yards and seeing their individualwhiskers. It was evening, heavily overcast,and the ship was moving. You need the10x zoom to enlarge the whiskers and you need 50mm to make the most of the lowlight. More than 10x and I start gettingannoyed holding the binoculars still free handed. More than 50mm and they are too heavy, toobig, and/or too expensive.

 

I remember looking at bald eagles at 30 yards in Ketchikan and seeingthe individual feathers on their face. And looking at a grizzly’s face in the bushes from the Denali bus at 25yards (only his face was visible). Ifyou think a grizzly looks impressive at 25 yards, use binoculars and you will seeamazing details.

 

I remember heading into the Gulf of Alaska and looking at MountFairweather. Then I saw a small glacierunder it. Then I noticed the glacier wasmoving. Then I used my binoculars andrealized the small glacier was a cruise ship many miles away. It really put the size of Mount Fairweatherinto perspective.

 

I would suggest 10x50 binoculars for Alaska. You need the 10x because many things will be faraway. But you have to be good or practiceat handling 10x on close objects. Ithink 12x or higher is too much when looking at close animals or free handingon a moving boat. I like 50mm becauselow light can last for hours in Alaska. However,if you are not good at finding/tracking your target with binoculars, then dropdown to 8x. It is better to see a smallerquality image at 8x than to get frustrated with 10x. If you cannot hold heavy binoculars up long,then drop down to 42mm, maybe 32mm. ButI would never drop down to 20-25mm as your only binocular. Being that small, optics quality is far morecritical and going cheap costs you much more. They can be great as a spur-of-the-moment pocket binocular, but a 10x25 canbe frustrating to use at important times.

The Busnell's ARE 10x50 or is it the auto focus you don't like!

Mine are arriving today and I will head down to the ocean and see how they work here at home.

Going to Cabela's next week and will look around. May want to get 8X42 for myself and the 10x50 for hubby!

Here is the link:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/gallery/denali-park/P6137133-2-Edit.jpg

WOW super nice pic.

Here is an aerial photo I took June 2017 that shows the road snaking from lower right and continuing to the left. Not sure of the altitude.

Can't seem to locate this photo. I looked under Denali also

I think the only scarey part of the drive is Polychrome Pass, about a 2 mile stretch. It terrifies me every time because you're on a dirt road with a VERY steep drop off and no guard rails. On the way into the park I sit on the passenger side of the bus, and on the way back I sit behind the driver.

There's video of the drive on youtube. Do a search for Polychrome Pass, denali. Although if you're afraid of heights, probably best not to watch.

Lol just afraid of falling over the side

Thanks for the tip.

I watched two different videos and I will heed your advice!!

Passenger side going in, driver's side going out. I'll put hubby next to the window when we get to that area.

Might have to take an anxiety pill!,

Any object less than 65 feet distance could be out of focus. After 65 feet to infinity is focused. Why would you be looking at something within 65 feet with Binoculars. I found that I get a clear focus and seeing and spotting whales and wildlife on my Alaska cruise sometimes 2 miles away. I have used these Busnell Perma Focus 10X50 binoculars with my contacts in and contacts out and with the auto focus and have always got a crystal clear view. Read the reviews on this binocular- all rated excellent.

Walmart.com has the cheapest prices on Binoculars and with the Busnell Perma Focus 10X50 if you don't like it and I doubt whether you won't, you can return it to your nearest Walmart store for a refund.

Just ordered these from Walmart and they will be arriving tomorrow.

Going to take them out and about and see how we like them. If not what we need for Alaska, easy enough to return!

I was on a HAL Denali Tour last June and saw lots of wildlife.

 

Passengers on the bus are the ones who spot the wildlife as the bus driver needs to be very careful in negotiating the narrow road.

/

Is the road just narrow or does it have drop offs?

I am not really afraid of heights but am always worried about "falling off"

I have been up Pikes Peak and Mt Washington and wasn't thrilled with either if them😬😬😬

How hard is it to rent a car the day we want one? I don't want to do it ahead just in case we decide not to rent one once we are in Fairbanks.

If you know the ship's name, just go to the cruiseline web site to find it's capacity.

Or, you're safe to use an average of 2500 per ship.

Or, google to find other sites, such as this one: http://www.cruiseportinsider.com/juneauschedule2018.html

Thanks

How far away are the hot springs? We are arriving a day early to Fairbanks.

Not sure if we want to rent a car so suggestions are welcome.

In the HELPFUL RESOURCES thread,( probably on pg 3 by now) I included a web site that provides a calendar and info on the cruiseships in each port each day... the ships name, # pax and time in port.

 

here's that link: http://claalaska.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Juneau-–-JNU-2018.pdf

Thanks!

I liked this site but only saw ship name and times, no number of people.

We will be on the Noordam June 10th(Seward to Vancouver) for our first ever cruise!

 

We have nothing to compare it with so we should be just fine:hearteyes:

We will be in room 8058. Looks to be a good midship location.

I know they offer them in the MDR for 6.95 +15% and you get to keep the souvenir glass.

I would think that they could make them anywhere on the ship as long as they have shooter glasses.

Thanks, glad I bought the drink package!

We will be on the Noordam June 10th(Seward to Vancouver) for our first ever cruise!

We have nothing to compare it with so we should be just fine:hearteyes:

do any of the bars make shooters?

If so, what would they charge for them, the same as a drink or maybe more?

I LOVE B52's:hearteyes: which include 3 liquors

Float plane takeoffs and landings are far smoother than large jet aircraft takeoffs and landings.

Not too worried about this part! It's the actually flying around that worries me more!

Yes...never put them on until the very next destination is going to be the cruise port. So if you're flying you'll need to wait same with a land trip...no sense in possible confusion about where those bags are going.

That is what I assumed but wanted to make sure. Thank you!