Colagirl

It seems as though Princess could at least allow passengers in the highest-risk group (over 65) to either cancel or re-book. They will need all the goodwill they can get when the concern over this virus finally fades (whenever that may be).

Our cruise out of Vancouver to Seward was incredibly smooth. There was maybe 1/2 hour on one day where you could feel the ship moving. However, it doesn't hurt to have it with you. I brought it and never opened it.

We stayed at the Westin Bayshore (arranged through the cruise), and we really enjoyed it. Great view of the harbor, nice restaurant, well-located (you could walk to Stanley Park, or at least parts of it). I would stay there again.

We did the 5.5 hour excursion in early July. I was very impressed with Allen Marine (we did one of their excursions in Ketchikan too). We saw lots of whales, and then took a bus ride over to the glacier, where we had about an hour. Wish it was a bit more time (the weather was great) - we walked on an easy trail to see a waterfall.

In Ketchikan we did the Wildlife safari and beach bonfire. It was awesome. Saw lots of wildlife, including orcas very near the boat. The bonflire was fun - the kids loved spending time on the beach (granted, we had very nice weather), and they do a nature "hike" in the woods near the beach. Well worth it.

We were on the Golden Princess several weeks ago. We could not utilize the laundry facilities from the time we docked in Juneau through the end of our day in Glacier Bay. The Patter indicated it was for "environmental reasons." So we quickly did laundry early in the trip as we had planned to do it about mid-way through (we also were doing a land tour). You could still have laundry sent out for the ship to do.

We were on the Golden Princess Northbound, leaving Vancouver on June 30. It was a great trip, review here:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=626459

We were on this exact cruise and also had an absolutely wonderful time. The weather on the cruise portion was fantastic! I agree with your assessment of the food (we did anytime dining) - I thought it was great and the service very good.

We did our excursions through the ship. We had not cruised before; if I went again I probably would book through private tour companies on the longer port days. The Glacier Bay day was one of my favorites - I really liked that they were pushing little carts of mimosas around on the decks. :)

We were just in Ketchikan about 2 weeks ago. We did the Wildlife Safari and Beach Bonfire through Princess. It was a wonderful excursion - saw lots of wildlife, including orcas and humpbacks. We landed on a small beach, and spent about an hour there. They provided lunch (reindeer sausage) and beverages (including beer and wine). The naturalists on board were very good. The excursion was relatively small - think there were about 25 people total. Would definitely recommend.

We were just in Alaska the first week of July. We had unusually good weather - sunny, clear, and mild, but we still needed layers. The water is very cold so anytime you are exposed to a breeze or wind off the water it is chilly. I had a fleece from Eddie Bauer and a sweatshirt that I wore over long-sleeved t-shirts. I live in the southern United States so even this nice weather was cool to me. I had brought gloves but did not need them - I did wear the winter hat I brought once (at the beginning of our morning in Glacier Bay).

We were just in Alaska last week and have Verizon. Service worked fine in all of our ports, including Ketchikan - away from the ports it was pretty spotty (but I imagine that is true of all cell carriers, not just Verizon). We did the $5/day international add-on for our time in Vancouver, and that worked well. If you are in the port and too close to the ship, you can pick up the ship's cell tower (which then creates roaming charges).

We just got off the Golden and had a wonderful time. Thought the food and service were great. Did not notice any bad smells and saw one small leak which was quickly fixed. I was nervous before the cruise because of reviews but we really enjoyed our time on the ship.