eyern1

Thanks everyone

I haven't seen tis one but I'll look for it. Thanks to you and everyone.

I read this as the ones booking through the ship board first and therefore are more likely to get the best seats or window seats but I don't know their loading logistics. Am I right?

I'm debating taking the train round trip vs an excursion that goes a little further by bus after you get off the train and then descends by bus. Will I really see anything different on the descent by train that I didn't see going up? Or will I see new things by taking the bus back down? I know they are basically on separate sides of the gorge so the angles will be a little different but is there much else of a difference? Is it often cloudy or foggy on the train ride like the tram ride in Juneau seems to be and if so, is there a certain time of day that tends to occur?

Thanks Kathscof

I called and it doesn't work, although I was really shocked one of the 8am tour boats said people didn't get off the ship fast enough to make that tour. Seems like they might adjust a little.

After researching, the glacier tours are a no go due to to time they start and end and transportation/transfer options are slim unless your plane leaves Anchorage around midnight. We leave at 8:20 pm, which I thought was terribly late when I booked it but it's not as it turns out. Looks like the best option for a tour is the all day bus transfer tour but that's about it, short of taking a direct bus back followed by some briefer tours in Anchorage. I thought I'd put this out there for warning and also in case some people know of stuff I didn't see and can direct me there.

Well I have no idea how I missed them, but there are several ship sold train excursions I didn't see. The similar one is down to $147 so I'll probably just take it or another one that also goes to the suspension bridge for $190, but I get the feeling it is a bus ride back down instead of the whole trip being on the train. I think I'll post about opinions on the train both ways vs the bus back.

I've been looking at those but without calling, I don't know that we can accomplish one of those because our plane leaves at 8:30 pm. It's appeared that it's cutting it too close but I was going to look for more posts about it and post the question myself if I could find the answer. Thanks Kathscof.

Oh, I knew the answer to that was no from the get go lol. My curiosity was that it sounded like some great comps were being received and got me to wondering how much play was required to get them. I essentially don't gamble but my arm could be twisted. The only time I've thrown more than $20 in the slots was the last cruise, when I started with $25 at the blackjack table and ended up with a good run to over $100, but in blackjack they don't keep up with how much you win or lose afaik. The only thing they can count is playing time for when you check in and out and maybe the amount of chips you buy at the table, right?

I've looked at the ship and tour operator excursions and they were almost double what the price is vs buying tickets on your own. However, I just saw something I hadn't seen before on the railway's website. Here it is. CRUISE SHIP For passengers arriving via cruise ship, this tour is available from your ship’s Shore Excursion Department. By booking through the cruise line, you will be able to take advantage of the dockside service and board the train on the pier alongside your ship. Contact your cruise line’s Shore Excursion Department for more details. Does this mean you can't book this independently? If so, it implies that you can't book it through a tour company as well. Or, does this merely mean it will be a little more effort once you get there to get to the train station to board?

Oh yeah, I knew $20 was a laughable number. What denomination slots do you play and do you play the max bet each time or the minimum?

Thanks everyone. We have driven to all of our other cruises except one and that was back when the airlines weren't penny pinching everyone to death. One advantage of packing near the limit I just thought of is that you don't have the ability to bring everyone back a crappy souvenier of YOUR vacation or a bunch of t shirts lol, plus you don't have to feel guilty about it.

Thank y'all. I'll check these out.

I just looked and a small boat excursion exists on my May 19 Radiance of the Seas sailing. It is listed on the day we are sailing past the glacier, lasts 2 1/2 hours and costs $364. It does seem to be a hit or miss as to whether the small boat will get closer than the ship or not from what I'm reading. I'm guessing my early sailing would potentially keep the ship further away but that's pure guess. I'd love to small boat it but will have to pass at those prices and uncertainties, esp. since I hope to do a bucket list version in about 10 years.

Following, especially since there's not much to do in ISP besides the whale watching, but that also seems much more expensive there. We will be there on May 22 if being that early makes much difference in one vs the others and it does seem early for the bears from what I'm reading.

Following but not thinking much more info will be available. Seems pretty limited for a 10 hour stop.

Thanks Coral. Good to know. Haven’t sailed Princess in over 10 years.

I'm curious and would appreciate it if someone would actually answer this. I don't gamble except maybe $20ish at the blackjack table or slots, on my cruises, which occur about once a year. How much do y'all typically gamble in winnings or losings and how much do you think you actually play overall in $? Do you get comped better by playing any certain games vs others? I'm sure slots is the easiest to keep up with. Is blackjack, roulette and other table games kept up with on a time basis when you sign in or what? I realize the money question is very personal and may not get answered. I tried to private message it to some of you but it kept telling me that feature was disabled. Maybe I actually have it disabled on my end lol, I don't know. But, y'all seem to be getting some great comps and I wanted to get an idea on this irregardless if I participate. Thanks.

Thanks. So it sounds like my time at Mendenhall will be adequate since Hubbard will be much more impressive and I can' get too close to the glaciers anyway. I won't rule out kayaking but the wife definitely wouldn't do it so I probably won't this time, but hopefully we can come back in the next 10 years and do a bucket list Alaska including inland adventures and flying over and standing on glaciers.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I'll check them out.

Thanks. I'm seeing prices in US$. I had seen something about the YWCA Hotel and unfortunately it was already booked.

I haven't run into many ships with self service laundry and the ones where you can leave things for the crew to do usually aren't at the end of the cruise. Hmmm. Yes, packing wet clothing in your luggage would present many challenges that you might just avoid by throwing items away.

My cruise hits Juneau, Hoonah (Icy strait point), Sitka, Skagway, cruises Hubbard glacier and ends in Seward. The times I've noticed on Excursions that go to the Mendenhall Visitors Center don't provide a lot of time to see the glacier unless you are on one that's dedicated to it only. As well, those are the only ones that actually seem to get close to it. I would like to do a whale watching and glacier combo there but our hours there aren't the best for that as we are there from 1p-10p, making time spent at the visitors center, falls and viewing tight before things shut down for the day if we go whale watching first. I'm sure Ill be impressed by Mendenhall, but are there other places on my trip where it's better or more so, MUCH better than Mendenhall? I guess I'm asking if I'm worrying that only being at the visitors center for about an hour is really adequate or worth worrying about because the glacier viewing just keeps getting better after that?

A thought just crossed my wandering mind. Has anyone, oh look, squirrel, had a problem with their baggage weight being over 50# for the return flight due to clothing being wet? I imagine many are packed close to 50# when heading out but since Alaska is so rainy, you could get caught with very wet jeans or other clothes near the end of the cruise, with no way to dry them before your fight home. Anybody have any good stories to tell involving this?