Elizabeth K.

15 hours ago, Coral said:

Princess usually lets you keep your luggage at Egan Center until your flight.

 

You could rent a car in Anchorage airport and drive around (and return to Anchorage). I think renting in Whittier and dropping off in Anchorage would be expensive.

 

 

How do you find out about luggage storage at the Egan Center?

Thanks for the ideas folks, especially about the luggage storage. Much appreciated.

Yes, there is that one and another named All Alaska Tours that does the same thing. I also just looked at the 26 Glacier Tour which sounds great but it ends at 6:30 pm so a bit too late. I just emailed them to see if they offer any other times.

Hi Folks,

I have a whole day and evening in Anchorage post Princess cruise and am wondering how to make the most of this day. I'm also wondering if Princess has a luggage transfer service to the airport. My flight is at 8:45 pm. There are no viable options for earlier flights, so I'd like to make the most of this day.

Princess offers 2 excursions for those of us that have later flights. One is Portage Glacier Scenic Cruise and the other is Turnagain Arm, Wildlife Conservation Center and Tram. From what I can tell either option will drop you at the airport or downtown Anchorage. But this is still around 3:30. I'd still have 3 ish hours before going to the airport. I also found an independent tour that will pick up at the ship and  does a scenic drive in the Portage Valley, goes to the Wildlife Conservation Center, and then to Gridwood. This one also ends around 3:30 and will take me to the airport or downtown Anchorage, but I'd have my luggage (carry-on sized roller and a backpack that attaches to the roller bag).

I have a  Anchorage Guide from the tourism center that has lots of info plus maps and tour operators so I can always contact some local companies and inquire there too.  Appreciate any ideas you guys might have.

I have booked specific cabins and gtys over the years and have never been dissatisfied with my assignment. I've always had at least a one category upgrade. I returned from sailing the Regal 2 weeks ago. I booked the least expensive unobstructed balcony gty, BF. I was assigned a BC on the Marina deck. I didn't love the location since I'm a pretty light sleeper and a stair user. But it was fine. My legs got a good workout all week lol!

Oops, I added it. Thanks!

I just posted a review on the review part of CC. We had a great time on her. I'm not sure what's with all the concerns. My sister and I got to sail on Oceania last year and felt pretty spoiled, so at times we would compare, until another in our party always brought us back to earth with his "what's not to like???"

I do wish the nickel and diming wasn't happening but it is probably here to stay. For example even with the Premium Package, the Crab Shack lunch wasn't included.

Here's a link to my review for anyone interested.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=712516

I was on the Regal last week as well. I only had one drink in Alfredo's while this drink restriction was in place, and I was kind of surprised the the rest of the $25 is good to use on anything else. I thought maybe they would take back what wasn't used but that must be too much of a book keeping hassle.

I just posted a review on the Review part of CC site if anyone is interested.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=712516

We just returned from cruising on the Regal Princess and it was my first time to Belize. We chose the Rendezvous Caye excursion through Princess, officially called Snorkeling Wonders of the Barrier Reef. I thought it was among the best excursions I've done in 15 Caribbean cruises. The boat picked us up off the ship so no tendering the Belize City first. We were the only ship in port that day and 2 boats took about 100 of us out to the Caye. It was jaw droppingly beautiful. Weather was perfect and the water is crystal . The team was fantastic and took us out in groups of 20. One of our companions stayed behind and swam in the water. I think it is appropriate for all experience levels. My brother who has only snorkeled twice felt very comfortable. It was $129 and didn't include lunch. On the ride to the island they offered descriptions of the lunch and you could decide if you wanted it or not. It was BBQ pork, chicken or Italian sausage with 2 sides. No veg option. Cost was $15-25 depending on what you wanted.  It also included one rum punch with additional punch and other drinks available for cash. You needed cash for lunch or other drinks and the few souvenirs offered. Fortunately I kew this going in.

My only complaint is that the water felt pretty busy at times as far as numbers of people with the group. You know, people swimming into me and kicking to close to me. So I went to the outer edge of the group.  There was an option to go back out independently once the swim with the guide was over.  But I let it be. We were out there for a good 45 mins.

Overall I loved this, and crew were top notch friendly, informative, and fun.

My suggestion is to go to the Princess website and create an account. You can then locate your future sailing and enter your preferences on the Cruise Personalizer. Hope this helps.

I just sailed on the Regal. I would do and I did, the premier package. The wine at selection at Vines is varied and the package gives you options up to $20.  Sabatini's should you go there, has different wines options on their menu as well that you have access to.  The cost of the Premier is a gut punch but it affords lots of dining options too and for me it's better to pay up front and then not to have to think about it. 

This happened to me last summer on a Discovery sailing in Alaska. We booked a small boat cruise that went up closer to Hubbard Glacier. I was pretty excited about it. Once on board no one including the concierge in the suite lounge could explain it. I just moved on. It wasn't worth making a fuss although it was disappointing.

I always loved trad dining. But my last two cruises--one right before the shut down and one recently on the Discovery-- we opted for the anytime and mostly did specialty except for 1 or 2 nights. There were just 2 of us.  Both times on the nights we did go into the anytime dining room, it's a terrible dining experience. Its like chaos in there. Wait staff running everywhere, and not even introducing themselves. Literally the waiter comes to the table and says nothing, and waits for us to say what we want, while looking around the room and not at us. Maybe we are just unlucky, but it was like hurry up and get in and get out.

We stayed at both lodges in 2018 on a 12 day cruise/land package. There were lots of choices on the menus at the restaurants in the lodges. Plenty of meat choices if you don't eat seafood. My husband is vegan and he managed with salads along with accommodating staff subbing in black beans and avocado. We didn't do the meal plan. Prices were moderate I would say. Breakfast at McKinley Lodge was probably the worst sticker shock (I'm thinking like $15 for pancakes) and I don't recall there being tons of dining venue choices there. But we were on a bucket list vacation and it's part of the budget. One of the lodges, I don't recall which, had a Starbucks with breakfast options like oatmeal, KIND bars and the like.

I agree there is a  strip mall across a busy road from the resort at Denali NP lodge. There was a shuttle if you didn't want to walk. There were a variety of choices there including a Subway and a funky cafe that had veg and vegan choices. Don't know if they survived the pandemic. There were also some options on either side if the strip mall.

I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did.

Thank you all for your helpful replies. 

I found this thread that answered my questions. Will post for others who may also be interested.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2784185-endicott-arm-tracy-fjord-excursion/

We will visit this spot on our inside passage cruise on Princess in early Sept.  Is it worth it to take the one excursion offered? Its a high speed catamaran that gets you up close to the glacier. There are no reviews on the Princess site.  have cruise AK once before with the Glacier Bay itinerary, which was beautiful, but the ship for obvious reasons doesn't get close to the close to the glaciers.

Also a bit confusing, is that the itinerary for Princess says 5-9 am. The details of the excursion say it starts at 7am and it's 6 hrs. This doesn't seem possible. I'll have to check with Princess about this.

You can take all the precautions you want. Its the other passengers who may be less conscientious that you have to worry about. Like the man in front of us at the theatre where we had to wait to tender off, who was flossing his teeth. Yes I am serious. Or the  passengers who can't remember not to pick their noses. Or those that still cough in their hands. And there was the young woman with a really nasty cough sitting at my gate at the airport post cruise. My apologies for being blunt but that's the reality. I just go off the Royal on Saturday and am really glad to be home.  We made the decision to go at the last minute having waffled all week. We'd have lost all of our fare even though we had insurance. And we thought we'd be OK. And we are. But it was hard to not feel a bit anxious all week.

I'm not sure what a tarzan boat is. They had different boat tours for snorkeling. They had venders selling them. They had a large apparatus out in the water for people to climb on, slide down, and jump off of into the water from 2 heights. Some school aged boys were having fun on that.

We were just there and took a water taxi for $10pp round trip. There are signs in the cruise terminal directing you.  Very easy. There is some waiting because they want to fill up the boat. Capacity is 15 if I recall correctly. There are 10 or 12 boats and they run continuously. The ride itself takes about 10 minutes and drops you off on the beach. There are numerous venders renting chairs and umbrellas and selling food and drinks.

We were at Copacabana in Dec at the recommendation of the driver we had.  We were on the Summit. The cost is $25 pp and included beach chair, umbrella, a rum punch and a food/drink credit, the amount of which I apologize but can't remember (might have been $20).

We had each has a decent lunch and bottled water and it was covered. We didn't have additional drinks. The sand is super powdery and the water warm and calm. The entrance area is very nice and the staff are too. Changing rooms are decent.  My main complaint was that the beach chairs are very close together. It turned me off as soon as I saw it. Fortunately we were the only ship in port and the place wasn't very crowded.

There are quite a few venders trying to sell you jewelry and snorkel, turtle, jet ski type stuff. It gets a little annoying but I know they are just trying to make a living.

The poster said they already decided to do a land tour. The DIY isn't  everyone's cup of tea. For us, there were 3 couples. A DIY would've been logistically very difficult as far as travelling together in one vehicle,  agreeing on hotels, and schedules. With the cruise tour, the schedule is predetermined. Yes I know, it's less flexible. We did active excursions each day, everyone picked their own, so at the end of the day it was nice to relax at the lodge and share experiences. We kayaked the afternoon we arrived at the Mt. McKinley Wilderness lodge. We did a hiking trip the next day , the Tundra Wilderness during our stay at Denali Princess Lodge, and some of our group did whitewater rafting as well. We also did the riverboat cruise in Fairbanks which I expected not to like but it fun and interesting. 

I think 5 days on land if you can swing it, and if you're combining it with a cruise.  My neighbor spent the whole summer there last year exploring in her little RV. She had some amazing off the beaten path stories. But alas, I am not retired yet.

Frequent posters lean towards DIY.  Here's my opinion. We did the  Princess 12 night NB Denali Explorer cruise tour in June 2017 and loved it . We are 3 active, capable, middle age couples perfectly capable of planning a DIY.  But  here's the upside to the Princess cruise tour package in my opinion. We were 1st timers to AK. The Princess land tour take every headache out of the trip. It was a great overview with the inside passage cruise, 2 nts at Denali State Park, 2 nts in Denali National Park, and 1 nt (2 long days) in Fairbanks.  All the transfers were seamless. No standing in line at the hotels to check in because you've received your room # and key before arrival. Lots of excursions for any interest. Everyone can view the scenery at all times since no one has to do the driving. The lodges were great with beautiful scenery, interesting  lectures, convenient locations. Now that isn't to say that when I return, I wouldn't do a DIY.  Next trip I hope to do the cruise again, and add time in the Seward/Kenai area on my own. But I absolutely loved the land tour through Princess for the wonderful overview.

Thanks for your wonderful review. My sister-in-law and I were on the same cruise and are also Wisconsinites.  It was such fun to see some of the same photos in your review that we also attempted to capture like the Santa with his elf in San Juan and the umbrella canopy.  We also found the itinerary rather busy and kept asking one another, "which island are we at again?" on any given day. But like you and many others, we liked starting from San Juan for the better odds of great weather  and for getting to some of  less travelled islands so no complaints.

Loved being the only ship in port at all but 1 island. Ate in the main dining room about half the nights (very good), as well as Sushi on 5 twice (decent food and quite relaxing atmosphere), Tuscan Grill (best calamari ever but the rest, not sure what the fuss is all about). The most fun experience was Qsine.  We were fortunate to have a lot of shipboard credits 🙂  We also really enjoyed listening to the singer guitarist Chris Hawks who played throughout the ship all week.  Happy holidays and thanks again for the review!

We did this Northbound trip as part of a cruise tour last year on the Star Princess. Ports were Ketchikan Juneau and Skagway plus Glacier Bay. We're hoping to go again next summer, and add on some days in Seward and Kenai Peninsula on our own, post cruise. I had the Golden in mind. But then I saw that there is an alternative itinerary that trades Ketchikan for Icy Strait Point but all those sailings are on the Island Princess. This gives us one different port which I like. We are active travelers looking for wildlife and active excursions so from what I can tell Icy Strait will fit the bill. Is there much difference between the 2 ships?