RSF Cruiser

Plus, if you have bags to check at SFO, you MUST check them at least 45 minutes before departure. We once got to the counter 40 minutes before departure, and they absolutely wouldn’t check our bag and it was too big for carryon. We missed our flight!!!

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I strongly recommend that you take Maui Revealed with you. It's an outstanding guide book and will clearly identify all of the stops to take. The ride is wonderful. Although the road is narrow at times, it's a lot safer than it was years ago when it wasn't even paved! Now that was scary driving! Some of my favorite stops are Dragon's Teeth at Makahia Point along the golf course in Kapalua; Nakalele Blowhole; and Olivine Pools which has the clearest water I've ever been in. These and other landmarks are fully described in the book.

If the restaurant you want to go to doesn't have any reservations at the time you want, still go - they often have openings for walkins.

I hike in every port (mainly Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway). I learned of the trails by reading these boards and Googling the port name and hikes. I've never been on a trail in Alaska I didn't like, so it's really dependent on if you have a car or you need to walk to the trail head. You did say you want to walk to the trail, but you could get a taxi to some of these.

Some of my favorites in Juneau are Nugget Falls at Mendenhall Glacier - more of a pleasant walk to a sand bar near the glacier and falls. Treadwell Mine on Douglas Island - another pleasant walk along the water with abandoned mine artifact. There is a walking guide online. Google Treadwell Mine Historic Trail and it should be the first hit. Perseverance Trail is one of the prettiest trails around and you can either take a short taxi ride or walk to the trail head. There are also some trails at the top of the tram with nice views of the canal and ships in port. You can't do all of these, but they are some of my favorites.

In Ketchikan there's a wonderful trail guide with about 25 trails listed. Google Ketchikan Area Trail Guide. My favorites are Deer Mountain for a nice workout and beautiful views. You can walk to the trail head from the port or get a taxi. If you have a car and the time, I love the area at the end of the road at Lunch Creek and Falls. The rain forest is beautiful, and of course, lush.

In Skagway you can walk to multiple the trails. If you Google Skagway trails, you'll see a trail description pdf for all of the trails. All of them are my favorites! At the end of town is the cemetery and a pleasant walk to lower Reid Falls. On the west side of town is Yakutania Point and Smuggler's Cove. Then right near the pier, is the Dewey Lake Trail System with multiple trails through the rain forest.

Enjoy learning about all of the wonderful things to do in your ports!!!

Just curious...we have stayed in a suite. How does the dining room service work?? Everything brought all at once? Do you call the room service number?

Everything comes at once. If you want to eat in courses, then order course by course.

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The port is only a mile or two from the airport - a taxi is the easiest way to go, not unless you want to walk!

Depending on how much luggage you have, there's a trolley station across the street from the hotel, and the stop near the cruise ship terminal is maybe about two blocks away. I'd take Lyft or Uber.

We took the tour to the ruins. Although I thoroughly enjoyed being at the ruins, I did not like our tour or tour guide - we spent too much time in the museum and not enough time wandering the ruins. We had to stay with the group. If I were to be there again, I'd take a taxi to the ruins and not a tour.

Club Class allows you to arrive at the designated dining room any time you want to, and there is not to be a wait for a table. We had Club Class this summer on a 10 night cruise to Alaska and we had the same two-top table and servers every night with no wait. We did not have to make reservations - we simply showed up.

I take the opposite tactic - I get to Avis around 9:00, after the crowds have left. There's no wait and they've always had my car (I call in the morning or day before to confirm the time I will be coming). I also get to the stops along the way after everyone has left. Also, don't forget to download Murray's Guide for the ride to Emerald Lake. Just google murray's guide skagway and it will be the first listing. Well worth the $5 charge. I've already reserved my car in Skagway for next year and I think the cost is about $130 plus gas for the day. The nice thing about Avis is you can cancel the day of your rental and not have to pay a cancellation fee. That way, if something happens or the weather isn't good, you can cancel at the last minute.

Oh, and I rent from Juneau Car Rental in Juneau. I've only had positive experiences with them.

Overall, it is not difficult to drive in San Diego, especially on the scenic route described in the link. Parking depends - like in any city - some areas are easy, others more of a challenge, but if you can't find street spaces, there generally are parking lots in the areas on the described route.

My advice is decide which places you want to get out of the car and explore - e.g. do you want to go into the Zoo? That will take a few hours. Stopping at Mount Soledad will take about 5-15 minutes to take in the view.

San Diego is a beautiful city, and the 59 mile drive is a great way to see the highlights. Read about the various stops and decide what are your priority stops. Enjoy your day in our beautiful city!

You can also trade the mini bar set up for a bottle of wine. We had a choice of several white and red wines.

We did a 15 day Panama Canal cruise over the holidays last year and the first formal night was the first sea day, the next one was Christmas Day, and the third one was New Years Eve. We went through the Panama Canal on Christmas Day, so it was a bit rushed after being out all day watching us traverse the canal. We're taking a Hawaii cruise over the 2018/2019 winter holidays, and figured it would be a similar schedule; it's really up to the cruise director. I'm interested in what happens this year, since we are in port on Christmas Day.

I always park at Aladdin - a few minutes from the cruise ship port and airport. If you reserve a space online, you get a $1 or $2 per day discount coupon. They also sometimes have promos through groupon. They have rooftop, indoor, and valet parking with regular and frequent shuttle service to the airport and cruise ship port.

Yes, you can fly into Gustavus and stay in Gustavus or the Lodge at Glacier Bay National Park - check out the park's website for details. The park has small boat tours of the bay and you get really close to the glaciers. We did this a few years ago (stayed in the park) and loved it.

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Just beyond Totem Bight is the end of the road and a beautiful state park (Settlers Cove) with well maintained trails throughout the area in the rain forest. BLM has an excellent trail guide for the area: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5413489.pdf If the link doesn't work, google ketchikan area trail guide, and the pdf booklet should be the first link.

Juneau Car Rental is at the AJ dock - about a 15-20 minute walk from the other docks. There is someone at the AJ dock location only when there are cruisers in town to rent a car. The rest of the time they are at their airport location. I've been renting from them for years and have always had a positive experience.

Check out the Tour Saver coupon book (google tour saver Alaska). There's also another one - I think its name is Northern Lights or something like that. We used a TourSaver coupon a few years ago that was good for the plane ride between Juneau and Gustavus, our hotel at Glacier NP, and the boat ride. We saved hundreds of dollars, so I hope the book still has the Glacier Bay coupon. We loved having the extra time on land in the park - beautiful hiking and other activities. We spent three days in Glacier Bay NP as part of a "land" trip throughout Alaska. Best trip ever!

We've used both Uber and Lyft being dropped off and picked up at the port.

I have done the full transit on both ships, and I will be the lone voice for the Island! We stay in an aft Vista Suite on the Aloha deck. The Coral does not have any fully aft suites. The aft suites on the Island, especially on the upper decks - Aloha - are incredible. The largest, nicest furnished Vista Suite we have ever stayed in, and the balcony is spectacular. There are many reviews about the IsIand post remodel. There are fewer public spaces, but we didn't notice that to be a problem. The Horizon Court was i credible in layout and food selection - better layout that any of the other Princess ships we've been on. We went over the winter holidays, so the ship was very full, and we had no problems with crowds. Which is the better ship really depends on your priorities. For us it is the cabin, and the Island is our favorite ship, hands down.

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We go to MDR around 8pm and had no problem getting seated, even for 2

 

 

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They also take some reservations each morning for Anytime Dining. I think it's about 30% of the tables. That way, even if there is a line, you have a minimal to no wait.

We love aft suites and generally stay in Vista ones. The configuration and furnishings differ by ship and deck. Our favorite suite, hands down, was A729 on the Island - one of the new suites. The bathroom was incredible - two sinks, bright, and functional. The balcony was huge, although it was mostly uncovered. I guess we were up high enough we did not experience any more movement, noise, or vibrations than we usually have in an aft cabin.

On the Grand, we've stayed in D736 and 737. Although there is a beam in the balcony, it did not bother us, and we liked having the larger balcony and a little bit of side view since it's a corner room. We do not like the cabin, though - the sitting room is small and there is no desk or phone in the sitting room.

We looked at the suites on the Caribe deck before disembarking. C750 and 751 are Vista suites. The inside of the cabin is actually larger than the Penthouse Suites next door (C748 and 749)! C750 and 751 has a larger sitting room with two side chairs and a desk, whereas C748 and 749 had room for only one side chair, but there is a desk. The balcony for the Penthouse suites (C748 and 749) were much better than the Vista suite - the Vista suites had two beams and was not as deep or long. So for us it became a decision of what was more important - a nicer balcony or nicer cabin. After much discussion, we decided to go for the Vista suite because of the larger cabin.

I could not get good information from anyone at Princess, even when we were on the ship, on the specifics of the cabin. Even simple things like does the suite have a desk in the sitting room. That's why we decided to tour the aft cabins on disembarkation day!

We generally do not like aft suites on the Emerald deck because the balconies are smaller, the beam is more of a problem, and you are above a lounge. But if an Emerald aft is the only suite available, I'd book it! We love watching the wake and hearing the ocean.

Bottom line - they give a range for the square footage of the suites because the suites vary a little by ship and deck.

Oh, and I did these walks/hikes alone.

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I think you can easily do both. Given your preference for scenery, I'd do Yakutania Point and then Smuggler's Cove first. The walk is primarily

flat with beautiful views. It probably takes half an hour at the most, to walk to the trail head, depending on where you dock. I think it's well worth the extra time to do Smugglers Cove - the trail is about a half mile to the point and another half mile to the cove. Once you get to the trail head, it should take about a leisurely hour, with plenty of time for pictures and admiring the scenery.

You can then walk back across the foot bridge and walk along the river or through town to get to the cemetery and Lower Reid Falls. It's about four miles round trip from the dock to the falls, and the entire round trip is about two hours, so you'll even have time to stroll through town! The cemetery is interesting and the walk back to the falls is beautiful.

Google Dewey Lake Trail System and you'll find a pdf file with a description of the trails around Skagway. The National Park Service information center has hard copies of the trail booklet.

A harder hike right near the docks, but beautiful, is to Lower Dewey Lake. It's steep and is about one mile to the lake, and if you go around the lake before you return, it's a total distance of about three and a half miles. I did Lower Dewey Lakes and the cemetery/falls in the same day, and still had time for ambling through town. I did the point and cove on a different trip.

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I think you can so both.

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