RSF Cruiser

I always walk over to Juneau Car Rental and then drive back to the ship and pick up my husband. There’s a drop off area in front of where the Princess ship is docked - I don’t know about the other ships. I call my husband when I get the car, and then he is waiting for me in front of the ship. Picking him up has never been a problem.

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For Acapulco, I made a list of sights that interested me (found by reading Cruise Critic threads and a lot of googling :-) and then hired a taxi at the port to take us everywhere. I think we paid about $40 or so four 4-6 hours.

I've rented from Juneau Car Rental many times and have had no problems with their cars. They often are older cars, but in good running condition. They've also been adding newer models over the past few years. The main problem with them is if you are not docked at the AJ dock, it's about a 20 minute walk to get to them.

It's easy to hike to the terminus of the glacier on your own. Depending on your hiking interests, you can also hike to the Harding Icefield where Exit Glacier begins.

Exit Glacier is part of Kenai Fjords National Park and there is a nature center and visitor center. The web site has information on the hikes and also on ways to get to the park by taxi or shuttle. When we went we had a car, but you said you didn't want to do that. I prefer doing national parks on my own so I determine where I go and how long I stay. The web site also has information on ranger led hikes. Your son might enjoy the narration from the rangers.

I love the Revealed books (Maiu Revealed, Oahu Revealed, etc.). Although we've been to Hawaii many times, we find the books to be invaluable - comprehensive, detailed, and the authors explain why they liked or didn't like a certain place - it's not just a listing and description of things to do. Plus, they often include little known places to explore. Many libraries have them if you want to check out the books before buying them.

I would rate the food from good to excellent. Service is generally excellent, and on rare occasions I’d say very good. Since we stay in a suite, we have breakfast in Sabatini’s which is excellent, and then dinner in the dining room - Club Class or regular anytime. Lunch and snacks are generally from the International Cafe if there is one. Also, if there’s an Alfredo’s, the pizza is outstanding. Hope this helps.

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We switched to Princess about five or so years ago. We had cruised mainly Carnival and two specialty cruise lines. We do not fit the Carnival demographic - in our 60s/70s with no kids, don't drink or gamble. We enjoyed Carnival a lot and liked the upbeat vibe. We switched lines because Carnival stopped offering some of their Mexican offerings, and Princess still had them. Based on these boards, we were expecting to be wowed by the Princess experience (we stay in aft suites on both lines). We were satisfied, but not wowed after our first Princess cruise - there are more similarities than differences between the mass market lines. Now that we've been on about 10 Princess cruises, we know what to expect and are very satisfied with their product. For a suite they are more expensive than Carnival because there are more "included" services. Others have commented on the decor, and Princess has enough activities and excellent shows to keep us coming back! I think the difference between Carnival and Princess is more like the difference between a Marriott Residence Inn and full service Marriott.

We’ve done both and they are both incredibly experiences. I wouldn’t say one is better than the other. Even though you are on the glacier with dog sledding, you are in a snow covered area, so you generally do not see the crevices and blue ice. It was thrilling riding on the sleds. Many people come back again, so pick one and do the other the next time. You’ll probably be in port long enough to also go to Mendenhall.

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We chose to fly directly into Victoria - we wanted to maximize our vacation time and minimize travel time. After two nights in Victoria, we took the ferry to Vancouver for two nights, and then got on our cruise to Alaska. I think the cost worked out about the same as flying into Seattle, but we had more vacation time.

We always stay in aft cabins. We love the view and sound of the wake. Yes there is more vibrations than mid ship, but we like it. You can notice it more when the ship is traveling a bit faster - usually the last sea day. Our favorite time on the balcony is when we leave Glacier Bay. We get room service and eat out there while watching the glacier and mountains disappear. We’re up on deck going into Glacier Bay and while at the Marjorie (sp?) Glacier.

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We enjoyed the cemetery on the edge of town. There’s a nice memorial to hikers who passes on Denali, and you get a flavor of the people who lived there.

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We were on the Island Dec/Jan 2016-17 for a full Panama Canal transit. I was worried about all of the negative reviews about the vibrations in the aft cabins. I can't remember the cabin number or name, but it was one of the two center aft cabins on Aloha. The vibrations were the same as any cruise - no worse no better. All I could figure out is maybe the vibrations were fixed, the people complaining had never been in an aft cabin before, or the vibrations were worse lower down in the ship. All I can say is the Island is our favorite ship because of how wonderful the aft cabin was! I rarely eat in the Horizon Court, but I liked the layout on the Island. I did miss the International Cafe, but that was not a deal breaker - and the cabin more than made up for it.

We've rented from Juneau Car Rental multiple times and have always been pleased with the cars and price! The people working there are really nice and helpful, too.

We stayed in one of the new, aft facing suites on the Aloha level, and we loved our cabin! It's new, bright, well designed, and has a huge balcony. It's our favorite cabin on any cruise we've been on, and we've been on a lot of cruises. In general, if vibrations are a concern for you, a mid-ship cabin on one of the middle decks will have the lowest amount of vibration. Meaning, if you stay in an aft cabin, you will have more vibration than in a mid-cabin. That said, the vibration level on on Island is the same as any other aft cabin we've been in, and it was not a problem for us. There's more when you are going into port or traveling at a higher speed, but it's never been a problem for us. We absolutely love aft facing cabins and watching the wake.

We always stay in aft suites - facing the wake. There is more vibration than mid ship, but the vibrations do not bother us at all - in fact, we find them soothing. It depends on how sensitive you are to movement. We love the extra space in a full suite, which is the main reason we book one.

Yes, generally speaking, the aft has more vibrations than the center if the ship.

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Our favorite hike in Juneau is the West Glacier Trail. It’s best accessed by rental car although the city bus stops about a mile from the trailhead. It’s on the opposite side of Mendenhall Glacier as the visitor center. This isn’t my review but it’s a good one that details the trail.

http://www.panamintcity.com/alaska/westglacier.html

I'm doing west glacier trail this year - can't wait. For the first time I'm going on a guided hike since I want to go into the ice caves if it's safe. I've done all of my other hiking on my own.

There are wonderful hikes in all of the ports. Juneau: We generally rent a car and drive to various trails. A simple and beautiful hike is at Mendenhall Glacier to Nugget falls - really more of a pleasant walk with beautiful scenery. There are also beautiful walkways at the Shrine of St. Therese - right on the waterway. There's also the Treadwell Mine on Douglas Island. You can download a self guided tour and historic guide on the internet - Google treadwell mine historic trail and the guide should be the first hit. I wouldn't consider any of these actual hikes, but they are beautiful walks. Eagle Beach also has some nice trails. As for an actual hike with views and elevation gain, Perseverance Trail is my all time favorite. There are short, nice trails with magnificent views at the top of Mt. Roberts - you can hike up/down, or take the tram.

In Ketchikan, google the ketchikan area trails guide, and you will have a pdf with excellent trail descriptions for the entire area. My favorites there are Deer Mountain, Lunch Falls, and Ward Lake. Also, walking through Totem Bight is nice and on the way to Lunch Creek. Even if you have only the morning in Ketchikan, you can do Totem Bight, Lunch Creek, and maybe Ward Lake.

In Skagway there are plenty of trails in walking distance from the ships. Google skagway trail map and you'll be able to get good trail descriptions, there, too. Lower Dewey Lake is a nice one, although quite a bit of elevation gain in the beginning. An easier and really beautiful hike/walk is Yakutania Point and Smuggler's cove. It's also nice to walk to the end of town to the Gold Rush Cemetary and Lower Reid Falls. A favorite activity in Skagway is to rent a car and drive to Emerald Lake. For this trip download murrays guide to the south klondike highway and her marks some trails along the way.

Seward also has plenty of trails - Exit Glacier has a trail that goes up to the Harding Icefield - you hike along the glacier with incredible mountain views. There are also several other trails at Exit Glacier.

I've not been to Icy Straight, so can't comment from personal experience.

I found these trails by reading this forum, doing internet searches for trails in the various areas, and reading Alaska guide books. Alaska is a hikers paradise.

As you can see, there are plenty of trails, and you'll probably be back to Alaska many times!!! The views and rain forest are some of my favorite places to be!

RSF Cruiser, thank you so much for that bit of information! This will be my first time on the Island and with all of the negativity surrounding the ship after the dry dock changes, I was a little bit concerned. It is my first time in a suite and my sweetheart's first time on a cruise ever. I so want it to go well so he will go on more cruises with me! I'm happy to get your good report on this room!

You’re welcome! I was concerned about the negative Island reviews, but found I loved the ship. Horizon Court is inviting and well laid out. There’s no International Cafe in the atrium, but there is a place to get snacks - just not the same wide variety. A726, though, is fabulous. We had no problems with excessive vibrations. Aft cabins have more vibration and movement than mid-ship ones, but we didn’t find the Island to be more than any other aft cabin we’ve been in. Hope you and your sweetheart enjoys the cruise and cabin!!!

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I’ve found the laundry to be fine. The cleaning is hit or miss. Regardless of the cruise length, I pack 3 days of underwear, and about five for clothes since I don’t want to wear the same things all of the time. In a suite the laundry usually is same day if you have the bag out by 8:30-9:00 AM. They did once ruin a sweater since it got washed and not cleaned. We didn’t realize the sweater shrunk until after we got home.

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The Island A726 is not a typical vista suite. We’ve been in a lot of suites, and that one is our all time favorite. I love the two sinks in the bathroom and how much larger the room and balcony are compared to other ship cabins in the same category. That suite has made the Island our favorite ship and we can’t wait to sail her again.

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The food is good and the view wonderful!

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When I was there in 2016, Totem Bight asked for a donation, especially if you took one of their brochures. There was a $5 charge at Saxman, and that did not include going into the clan house. If you can do only one, I prefer Totem Bight with it's location on the Tongass Narrows and the way the totems are displayed. There's also an excellent gift shop/museum next door!

I LOVE aft balconies! The views and sound of the wake are one of my favorite things about cruising. Guess it comes down to what is more important to you - the balcony or room. If it's the room, then the minisuite. The balcony? Then the room you have for the extra $100.

We generally stay in suites, and overall, the room stewards have been outstanding. Here and there we've had a dud. I think Princess does a pretty good job in having a reliable level of service, but sometimes a not so good performer slips through. One thing we have learned, is to let the room steward know what we want. When we leave for breakfast, not only do we put the card in the door to clean our room, but we also let the room steward know we are leaving. Same thing for dinner. That said, it's always so nice to get a steward who can anticipate our requests!