shellgirl61

On our last Alaskan cruise, we did the bus excursion to the Yukon. The driver would not let anyone on the bus that did not have their passport in hand. One couple had to run back to the ship to get theirs. They only had a copy of it with them. The lady was hysterical. They made it back to the bus on time, so all was well.

It is hard to choose, when both of you have your hearts set on something different. On our first Alaska cruise, my husband wanted to go fishing in Juneau. I was not interested in doing that. I knew he wanted to!! I wanted to do the rainforest zipline. He had no interest in that. He fished and I ziplined. We both had a blast on our excursions. It worked out for us to do separate excursions. We had a lot to talk about afterwards. We each had different stories to tell of our separate excursions. It worked out fine for us. We spent the rest of the cruise together and did the same excursions in all the other ports. On our second cruise to Alaska, we did everything together. I hope you will find a good solution. I know, whatever you decide you will both have fun.

On our second Alaska Cruise we were going to take the train. But, my sister and her husband had taken the train on their cruise and one of my best friends had also taken the train on their Alaska cruise. Neither one of them liked the train ride and told us not to take the train excursion. We decided to skip the train and took the bus up to the Yukon and back to Skagway. We really enjoyed it. Scenery was beautiful and we made lots of photo stops. I was glad we took the bus both ways. It was very foggy in the morning and we could not see anything on the trip to the Yukon. The afternoon was beautiful and sunny and the scenery was awesome. We even say a couple of bears on the side of the road eating dandelions. The bus driver pulled over for us to take pictures.

Hope you will have good weather on your excursion so you can see all the beautiful scenery.

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful pictures. My son and I will be cruising to Alaska on Jun3 3rd. Our last port is Victoria. We will be there from 7pm to 11:59 pm. I have searched everywhere for good information about walking into town from the port. Your commentary is the best that I have seen. He wants to walk into town, instead of going on an organized tour. I am directionally challenged, so I am a little nervous about it. However, it looks well marked from your pictures. Are there places along the way to souvenir shop and have a beer? My son loves to souvenir shop and having a beer would be the icing on the cake for him.

I have been to Victoria several times, but I have never walked into town on my own. The walk into town by the water looks like the way to do it.

Thank you again for all the photos and information.

I will have to check those out. I watch it on TV Land on Sunday evening. Two episodes come on from 5 to 7 pm.

Watching two episodes of the Love Boat as we speak. They are on a small ship called Alexander the Great sailing around Egypt.There is lots of drama and intrigue. too much fun!

Love the pictures. You are so right about how fast Alaskan weather changes. I will be there in early June. On one of our Alaska cruises, it was beautiful outside when our shipped docked. The sky was blue. It was sunny and clear. We had an early excursion to Mendenhall. By the time we got there, it was cloudy and raining. We had planned to go up the Mt. Roberts Tram after the excursion. When we got back into Juneau it was so foggy. Visability was non existent, so we skipped the tram. All of these weather conditions took place in about 4 hours.

On past cruises, I have waterproofed my regular shoes. On my upcoming Alaska cruise, I bought a pair of Sperry ankle height waterproof shoes. We have had a lot of rain this winter, so they are completely broken in and very comfortable.

The Love Boat was one of my favorite TV programs. I sometimes still watch it on Sunday afternoons.

I flew for the first time in 1971. I was about 14. My Mom and I flew from Columbia, SC to Los Angeles. My Mom wore one of her church dresses. I wore a dressy church dress. I even went to the beauty shop and had an "updo". That trip is what inspired my love of travel, which is still going strong today. Plane travel in the 1970's made a person feel like royalty, unlike today when plane travel is a necessary evil that we must endure to get to our vacations.

I have used packing cubes on my last two land based trips. I loved them. I have four that are the same size, and they do not weigh hardly anything. they fit perfectly into my large suitcase and my carryon. I do not know how they do it, but I had a lot more space in my suitcase, therefore my clothes were not all crammed together and jumbled up when I got to my destination. I took the packing cubes out of the suitcase and put them directly in the drawers in my hotel room. Everything was organized and easy to get to during my entire vacations. I also used them to separate my dirty clothes from my clean clothes at the end of my vacation. I have a tendency to pack lighter than I used to, but I am by no means a minimalist packer. Some of my clothes I roll and put in the cube, and some of my clothes I fold and put into the cube. I will be cruising to Alaska in June. I will use my packing cubes. I do not think I will ever travel without them anymore.

Happy packing and happy travels!

Personally, I l like having the excursions already paid for before the cruise. We had OBC that covered most of our excursions, so not much went on my CC. I pay my CC in full each month anyway. It will be nice not to have a balance from our excursions on our bill at the end of the cruise. We are also getting free gratuities on our upcoming Alaska cruise, so there won't be a gratuity balance either.

Kudos to everyone that travel with only a carry on, and wash out their clothes in a sink or do laundry while on vacation When I vacation, cruise or otherwise, I take one large piece of luggage and a carry on. I do not have to pay a checked baggage fee, therefore no money savings by not checking a bag.

Also, one of my rules, while on vacation, is no laundry. I can stay home and do that. I also really enjoy the option of wearing different outfits on vacation. I take a couple of simple cocktail type dresses for formal nights and one pair of heels that work for both dresses. Not much luggage space is used. I never have the opportunity to dress up in real life, so I like having a reason to dress up on a cruise.

For me, trying to cram everything in a small carry on is more stressful than managing luggage on a a trip.

To the OP, you are not doing anything wrong. There is no right or wrong amount of luggage to take on a trip. More important is what works for your needs and preferences, and what you are comfortable with.

Enjoy the journey, no matter where it takes you.

A few years on the Golden, I ordered a cappuccino every morning in the buffet. T

he waiter had to go to the IC to get it.

Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy!!! Hawaii is on my bucket list. 118 days until my son and I sail to Alaska.

My son just got his first passport a few months ago. He got it in about two weeks. I was pleasantly surprised.

I did the zipline tour in Juneau. It was a lot of fun, and the scenery was beautiful.

I purchase most of my journals from T J Max. They have a great selection of different themes and sizes at great prices.

I have been on two Alaskan Cruises. Both trips were RT/Seattle on the Golden Princess.We loved both of them. We will be cruising to AK this June on the Emerald Princess, another RT/Seattle. I really enjoy sightseeing in the Seattle area.

One cruise included Glacier Bay, and one included Tracy Arm Fjord. I highly recommend a cruise that includes Glacier Bay. It is breathtaking!

We have done lots of different excursions. We will be trying different excursions for the upcoming trips. In Juneau we have done, zipline, salmon fishing, Mendenhall Glacier. My sister and her husband did the plane, glacier landing trip. They loved it. My sister raved about it.

In Skagway, we took the Yukon bus trip to Carcross and Caribou Crossing. We really had fun on that excursion. The scenery was beautiful and there were lots of photo stops. Lunch was included also.On the second trip to Skagway, we took a jet boat ride through a nature preserve near Haines. That was a great excursion. We saw moose, bear eating salmon, and lots of eagles up close. It was raining and we still enjoyed it. A picnic lunch was included also. In Ketchikan, we walked through town on our own during the second cruise. On the first cruise, we did the lighthouse, eagle and totem tour. That was very enjoyable. Loved seeing all the eagles. We saw both adult and juvenile eagles. On the upcoming cruise we will be trying different excursions. All of our excursions were booked through the ship. A lot of people like to rent cars and do their own driving, but neither one of us like to drive and sightsee at the same time, so we chose organized tours. Also, many people like to book tours on their own with local companies. We did not choose to do that either, but people seem happy with these.

In Victoria, we did the double decker bus tour and toured a castle. Victoria is a beautiful city, but it is short stop in the evening.

I am sure you will love this cruise, no matter which ship and route you take. Alaska is such a magical place. I love it and am excited about the upcoming trip. Please post which trip you choose.

Glad you guys enjoyed your cruise. My son and I are going to Alaska on the Emerald Princess in June 2018. We two are staying at the Hyatt Place Hotel. Hotels in Seattle are very pricey, so it is good to hear that you liked it. I chose it for the location. I want to be able to walk everywhere. I have not arranged my travel from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to Pier 91. It sounds like your picks worked out, so I will check into them. Thank you so much for sharing your cruise and stay in Seattle with us. Really enjoyed the pictures.

I love Seattle. I have been there many times. My son has never been there and he is excited about touring it. Our flight from Atlanta lands at SEA TAC at noon on Friday. Our cruise departs on Sunday afternoon. We won't have as much time as you had there, but we will see as much as we can.

I remember planning our first cruise to Alaska. It was also our first cruise. It was so much fun researching all the ports. It was difficult to pick excursions, because we wanted to do everything. I never thought we would go back to Alaska after our first trip, but now I am lucky enough to be planning a third trip. My husband passed away almost three years ago, so now I will be enjoying it with my son. We chose the Golden Princess. It worked out well for us. We enjoyed the ship, the ports, and the excursions we chose. In Juneau, my husband went salmon fishing. I did a zipline excursion. My husband was not interested in ziplining, and it was on my bucklist, He enjoyed the fishing trip, and he also got to see lots of eagles and whales. On our second cruise, in Juneau, we went to Mendenhall Glacier. It was beautiful. They have several easy trails to hike. There is also a good visitors center there. We saw several bears up close.

First trip to Skagway, we took the bus to the Yukon. The scenery was beautiful.The driver made lots of photo stops. He also was very knowledgeable on the area. We saw Emerald Lake (beautiful!), Carcross, Carcross Desert, Caribou Crossing, sled dogs, had a good lunch, and got our passports stamped. We also saw some bears on the side of the road. They were eating dandelions. The bus driver told us the dandelions made them a little intoxicated. It was a wonderful day.

In Skagway, on the second cruise, we took a boat to Haines, then got on a bus that took us to a wildlife preserve for a jet boat ride. We had a picnic lunch before starting the boat ride. We saw eagles, and 2 moose, and other wildlife. It was cold and raining on this trip. We got soaked even though we had raingear. On the bus ride back to Haines, there was a huge bear eating salmon in a stream beside the road. The bus driver stopped about 15 minutes for us to get a good look and take pictures. It was an awesome experience, even though the weather was not cooperative. We had a few hours before we had to board the ship. It was still raining and we were already wet, so we did some shopping and went to the Museum in Skagway. It was small, but very well done and enjoyable.

In Ketchikan, our original excursion was cancelled. We went on an excursion called Eagles, Totems, and Lighthouses. We enjoyed it. This was the only day it rained on our first cruise. However, it was a lot of fun. We saw lots of eagles, even young and juvenile eagles. It rains most of the time in KetchiKan.

On our second cruise in Ketchikan, we did not do excursion. We walked around the town and shopped. Creek Street is fun. We even toured Dolly's house.

Victoria was our last stop. First trip, we did the double decker bus tour. That was a lot of fun. The tour guide was great and made the tour very interesting and fun. Victoria is a beautiful city.

On our second cruise we went to a castle. It was beautiful and we enjoyed it.

We did the RT out of Seattle both times, because we have a cousin there. So visited with them before and after the cruise .

My son and I will be cruising to Alaska in June 2019, on the Emerald Princess. He has never been to Alaska. I know he will love it. We are going to spend a couple of days in Seattle. I love the city and I want to show it to him.

This trip I want to see different things, but I also want him to really have fun. He wants to do the Deadliest Catch Tour in Ketchikan, so we are going to do that. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun. In Juneau, we are going to do the Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Watch Tour. I do not mind going to Mendenhall again, and I want to see whales. We never saw whales on the two previous trips to Alaska. Hopefully this will be the time to see them. We have not decided yet what we want to do in Skagway or Victoria.

I am sure you will love your trip no matter what excursions you choose. Alaska is such a magical place. As I think back on planning our first trip, the excursions we chose were sort of like a shot in the dark. We had no clue what to expect from this cruise. Everything we did ended up working out great for us. It also seemed on every excursion, we saw and experienced unexpected things, like watching a huge bear eating salmon up close from the safety of a bus. That was totally unexpected and not a part of the tour. I will remember that experience forever.

Good luck and happy trip planning. Let us know which cruise you choose and which excursions you decide on.

163 days to Alaska, RT out of Seattle.

My husband passed away almost three years ago. We traveled frequently, and we cruised several times. Currently my adult son travels with me on one vacation a year. Next year we are going on an Alaskan cruise. When he gets married and starts his own family, that will change. I will be retiring in less than two years and would like to take some longer cruises to my bucket list places. I have been researching how much it will cost me to cruise solo. It is quite depressing to see how much a solo cruiser has to pay. With the prices that we have to pay, I would make a point of not spending another dime on the ship. Whereas, if the cost to cruise solo was more reasonable, I would make feel very comfortable to make additional purchases on the ship. Therefore Princess would recoup some of their money from me. It seems like there should be some sort of compromise for both Princess, or any other cruiseline, and the solo passenger.

My husband and I went on two Alaska cruises, 2009 and 2011, both round trip out of Seattle.We loved both of them. He had a cousin in Olympia that we would visit before and after the cruise. We were planning a land/cruise trip for 2017, our twentieth anniversary year. He passed away in 2015, so it was not meant to be. I just booked an Alaska Cruise for June 2018 for me and my son. We will be sailing in and out of Seattle. We will spend two days sightseeing in Seattle before the cruise. We are both very excited about the trip. I am really looking forward to showing him Seattle.

Norris, I am thoroughly enjoying your trip report !This has been a tough day and your trip report and a glass of Merlot is just what I needed. On our Canada/New England cruise in 2013, we toured the Breakers and Marble House. On the Breakers tour we got the audio tour guide. My cousin could not keep up with the audio. She got very frustrated. I spent most of my time trying to keep her in sync with the audio and the room we were in. It was an exercise in futility. Her husband and my husband kept their distance and just laughed at us. Both houses and the grounds were so beautiful. The view from the Breakers was unbelievable.Thanks for the memories.

I just booked an Alaskan Cruise on the Emerald Princess today for June 3, 2018 for me and my son. Do you have an Alaskan cruise report on Cruise Critic?

Looking forward to enjoying your trip report. My husband and I cruised on the Emerald Princess in 2013, starting in NYC and ending in Quebec City.

We had a wonderful trip! It was our last big trip before he was diagnosed with cancer, so it has very special meaning to me. Can't wait to read your report and see all your pictures. Thanks for sharing.