RSF Cruiser

Dinner the first night in a specialty restaurant. I think the cruise needs to be at least five days for this perk.

Google Ketchikan Areas Trail Guide and you will find a multi-agency pdf booklet with excellent descriptions of the trails in and around Ketchikan. Some of the trails can be walked to from the trip, others require transportation. The trails range from easy to difficult and short to long. If you enjoy hiking, Ketchikan is one of my favorite places for extraordinary hiking through the rain forest.

We did a one way cruise from Vancouver to Seward and the land portion pre- and post-cruise was a DIY. We flew into Victoria BC where we stayed a few nights, and then took the ferry to Vancouver (although it's called a ferry, it was a bus ride from Victoria to the ferry station, and after the ferry ride to Vancouver the bus took us to a bus station in Vancouver. We then took a taxi to our hotel). We stayed a few days in Vancouver, boarded our cruise, which took us to Seward. We took bus transportation to Anchorage that stopped at Portage Glacier on the way. We stayed in Anchorage over night and then took the train to Denali for a few days, and the train to Fairbanks for a few days. We flew from Fairbanks back to Anchorage and then home. It was a wonderful trip and I always DIY. We rode in Princess train cars, although we were independent travelers. It takes a lot more work to pull together a multiple stop land tour, but I enjoy the planning, and much prefer DIY to being herded from place to place. Search these boards - there are quite a few reports of DIY land tours.

We've also flown into Juneau and then toured all over Alaska on our own with no cruise. That was our best trip ever, but it, too, took a lot of planning and was fairly expensive because of all of the flights, trains, car rentals, and ferry rides. I think it was well worth the effort, but then again, I enjoy the planning phase. With the Internet, resources for planning are readily available!

as of last week, yes!

I generally rent a car and go hiking in the rain forest. In Ketchikan, I have been renting from Alaska Car Rental, but they've increased their rate from ~$65 to ~$99. I may start taking a cab to the trailhead! If you Google Ketchikan Area Trail Guide you'll find a pdf booklet with trails in Ketchikan. For some you need to drive, others can be walked to from the ship. This past trip I went on the first mile of Deer Mountain (you can walk to it from the ship or take a cab), and it was one of my favorite trails. Magnificent rain forest with a great view of the fjord at mile one. I also did the Rainbird trail and thought Deer Mountain was prettier, although Rainbird was easier for hiking. The hiking in and around Ketchikan is wonderful!

In Juneau I rent a car from Juneau Car Rentals - ~$60. Their office is at the AJ dock, so it might be a 15-20 minute walk from where your ship docks. Juneau also has great hiking and places you can do on your own. There's a fish hatchery, Alaskan Brewery, Eagle Beach, Shrine of St. Therese, the tram to Mt. Roberts, and a wonderful trail in town is Perseverance Trail with outstanding waterfall, stream, and mountain views.

Between CruiseCritic and the Internet, you will find more things to do on your own than you'll have time for!

It will likely be chilly and warm. I always take at least one t-shirt and a pair of shorts, along with a rain jacket and fleece. I've stopped taking rain pants and instead wear quick dry pants when it's raining. I also hike in most ports. Although it's a personal decision, I take my hiking poles for the climbs and my boots because it's more comfortable for me to hike with boots than anything else. Are boots and poles necessary? No. Do they help make a hike easier and more enjoyable? Yes. The hiking in Alaska is wonderful!!!

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I love aft cabins, especially for Alaska. Leaving Glacier Bay, Skagway, and well, any of the ports, is so enjoyable sitting on our aft balcony and having a drink or snack. Especially if you can get a corner aft - that way you have greater than a 180 degree view! I don't know if you are going to Glacier Bay or not, but one of our favorite things to do is be on deck going into the bay and while at the Margerie Glacier, but then returning to our cabin and have a snack while leaving the Bay. The views are incredible!

I've been to Alaska 6-7 times now and remember being overwhelmed trying to plan the first trip. I read these boards, checked out books from the library, "cruised" the Internet, and kept a matrix with each ship I was interested in, the ports they stopped in, and the times of the port stays. For that first trip I chose Carnival Legend because it left from Vancouver and stopped in Sitka, but I had to trade Glacier Bay for College Fjord. Since then we've cruised mainly Princess from Seattle and San Francisco. The ship is of less importance for an Alaskan cruise - the itinerary usually determines who you decide on. I would not recommend a round trip cruise for your first time, although if finances are tight, airfare is usually cheaper with a round trip. Our first trip was two weeks on land and sea - we started in Victoria for a few days, then Vancouver, the cruise, Seward, Anchorage, Denali, and Fairbanks. We were hooked! We did the land portion on our own. Since then we've done land only, cruise only, one way and round trip. Alaska is so vast, you can return multiple times and never do the same thing twice.

The best advice I can give is be clear on what's important to you, read, read, read, and expect to return to do those things you couldn't on the first trip!

I love planning vacations, so we've never done a cruise-tour, although we did take a Princess train from Anchorage to Denali and stayed in a Princess Lodge once. Like others, I find group tours restrictive, so I'm willing to forgo the convenience of someone else doing the planning. It really depends on what you like, and what you like to do. For me a vacation starts with the planning and ends once I finish my photo journal. For others, the vacation is as long as the trip. Planning a trip to Alaska can be overwhelming since there are so many wonderful options. I've gone to Alaska around six times, some as a cruise and land trip, one fabulous two and a half week land trip, and some as a cruise only. All of them have been spectacular!

We always park at Aladdin. They have a shuttle to the airport and cruise port. If you make an online reservation, you get a $2 off per day coupon. Their service is reliable and the lot gives you the option of vallet, indoor, or outside. Cost for inside with a coupon is $15 per day. I'm not sure of outside or vallet.

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Thank You! anyone stay in one of the aft Vista Suites?

We stayed there several years ago - splurged for a mountain view room, and they called us when the mountain was out. The view from our window was incredible, although we were so excited, we went outside to get pictures from the deck.

The hotel is very nice, although pricey. We did not eat in the restaurant.

I enjoy Talkeetna - it's a quirky town with quirky shops and stuff. There's a National Park Service building with interesting information for people who climb up Denali. I also thought the cemetery on the outskirts of town was great - there's a monument to the people who have died climbing Denali, plus the most interesting grave sites I've ever seen.

We stayed for an overnight and then continued on our way. I know we were lucky to see the mountain in all of her glory! She was only out for 90 minutes, so do not go with the expectation that you will see Denali.

We did plan for a flightseeing excursion with a landing on the Ruth Glacier - we took the flight but no landing because of the weather - we could hardly see the mountain, but the flight was great anyway.

hope this information helps...

I've done what you are planning several times. Definitely use Murray's Guide - it's a well spent $5 (you can find it by googling Murray's guide Skagway). Also, stop at the suspension bridge on the way to Emerald Lake. We waited until our return and it was closed.

In the Grand Princess is there a desk in the sitting room in the aft suites on the Dolphin Deck (Vista Suites D736 or 737) or Caribe Deck (Vista Suites C 750 and 751 or Penthouse Suites C748 and 749)?

I've stayed in the Grand Princess Vista Suites on the Dolphin deck (D736 and D737) in the past, and there was not a desk. A Princess rep today said the Grand now has two desks in these cabins with one in the sitting room, and I fear she was reading off a standard sheet with what generally is in a Vista Suite, and not what is actually in these specific suites.Has anyone stayed in any of the above six cabins and remembers if there were two desks?

I checked the thread with all of the aft suite pictures, and Googled for other threads/blogs/etc., and could not tell for sure, hence this post :D

Thanks...

Thank you for the suggestions. For others who may be interested, a one way car rental with a pick up in San Ramon and drop off at the Moscone Center is $87 - which includes the $25 drop off fee (I don't know if I can name the rental car company). The agency closer to the pier didn't accept one way rental drop offs for some reason. We'll either rent a car or take Lyft/Uber - we'll have too much luggage to easily take BART.

I need non-stop transportation from Danville, CA to the SF pier in July. My daughter just moved to Danville, so all of us are unfamiliar with the area and transportation services. Does anyone have any recommendations?

I found ABC Shuttle service and their online estimator said it would cost $86 for two of us. Yelp reviews were mainly negative, so I'm really hesitant to pick them.

Tri-Valley Transportation had better reviews, but the price is $136.

Lyft and Uber give ranges from ~$50-80 for a larger vehicle with room for our luggage.

Are there other shuttle services I should look into? Any I should keep away from?

Thanks!!!

When you are done.

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I will be the lone voice for the Island. We've done the Panama Canal twice - first on the Coral five years ago, and then on the Island this past Dec/Jan. We like aft Vista suites. The Coral has no cabins completely aft, so our cabin was on the side of the ship. With the changes to the Island we had the nicest Vista suite we'd ever been in, with an incredible balcony. The cabin is important to us, so for that reason, I vote for the Island. If you aren't going to stay in a completely aft cabin, then the Coral might be better.

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We did the Island this past Dec/Jan from Florida to LA and loved the cruise and ship. We even stayed in one of the new aft suites and our cabin had no more vibration than any other aft suite we've been on, and we always stay in an aft, usually Vista suite. We were in one of the two Vista suites behind the children's center. We never heard any noise from the kids, and since our sailing was over the holidays, there were quite a few kids. We loved the extra large balcony. Sure, there are things I like better on other Princess ships, like a larger Piazza or International cafe', but that wouldn't stop me from going on the Island again if I wanted that itinerary. I, too, was concerned because of all of the complaining about the changes on these boards. We enjoyed the ship and cruise.

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We always stay at the Double Tree (we get Hilton Honors Points and are often upgraded for free to a marina suite). The hotel was remodeled a few years ago and is in a pleasant setting on the harbor. It's true there isn't much around there, but I like walking along the harbor and the hotel has an OK restaurant and offers a free shuttle to the ship or other local areas.

Can those of you renting share the location/ cost etc please. Is it tricky to get to the airport. There are four of us and my dad is 75

 

 

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I always rent from Juneau Car Rental at the AJ gate. The cost is about $65 for a car a few years old. Their cars are older than the national chains, but I have never had any problems. I enjoy walking/hiking, but my husband does not, so I walk over to the car rental lot (takes about 15-20 minutes), and then pick my husband up at the dock. With a cell phone, I call him when I'm leaving the lot, and he is outside waiting for me.

I prefer Totem Bight, mainly because of the location - right on the water, and how the totems are displayed. If you rent a car, you can easily do both totem parks, plus other things of interest.

I've done exactly what you are planning to do, several times - once alone and also with others. Bears are a reality, although I have never seen one on the trails, and that's probably since I make noise as I hike so they know I am there. Generally speaking, wild animals try to avoid humans. The key is to not surprise them. Talking warns them you are in the area.

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I would not rent from the Enterprise office in San Pedro - they were totally understaffed, disorganized, and short on cars. We rented from them after our Panama Canal Cruise - wish I had gone with Hertz. I've rented from Enterprise many times before, but other locations, and have not had problems like this one.

I generally rent a car from Alaskan Car Rental. They are a pleasant, flat, ~ one mile walk from the pier, although they will come pick you up and drop you off. I usually have them pick me up but I walk back along the water. The cost is around $60-65, and I've done it when I've been in port for the morning or all day. I prefer to tour on my own - that way I can do what I want and stay as short or long as I want. There's plenty of information available on the internet and from guide books, so no, I do not feel like I've missed out on anything, except for perhaps some personal stories a tour guide might share. I'm willing to give that up for the independence of being on my own, although that's a personal decision. I do recommend leaving some time to walk around Creek Street, though. When I am in port for only the morning, I don't like spending time waiting for the bus to Totem Bight. Then a bit further on the road from totem Bight is Settler's cove at the end of the road. There are delightful trails through the rain forest and down to the fjord. On the way back if there's time, you can stop by Ward Lake. If you like hiking, download the Ketchikan Area Trails Guide (if you google the title, the pdf is the first hit). There are lots of trails in and around Ketchikan.