Kitty Ellas Mom

The cruise does start in the Anchorage area, in Whittier.

I specifically chose an Alaska cruise on the Inside Passage b/c it is unlikely to have rough seas. I have never had motion sickness before. I was mostly thinking about being prepared for any eventuality.

I've never cruised before and don't know if I'll have seasickness. I am already planning to bring sea bands, ginger candies, Bonine and dramamine. I have never needed any of these things before but I brought some of them on the Amtrak train. Should I also ask my dr for a scopolamine patch? I would be very wary of using such a thing, as I am cruising solo and don't know how it would affect me. I know I could use it once on land to try, but I'm running out of time as I leave in 2 weeks.

I'm the OP and I wasn't sure where to put this question so I put it in first time cruisers. Yes, I am departing from Vancouver; I'm on a cruise that goes Whittier to Vancouver and I am from USA. I will fly from Vancouver to the USA east cost. I am wondering how I can find out if anything I have is banned in Canada. It is doubtful b/c I have few meds, but I was shocked to learn about some of the common American meds that are banned, for example, in countries such as China or Japan (from you tube videos such as Tips for Travelers). I just wondered if there was an easy resource to look this up for Canada, or any country I would travel to.

It would be nice to have a service like that app but I go to the military base so, no access to anything like that. I suppose I could ask the pharmacy to print out my prescription list but they are usually 100% slammed so I don't see them doing this for me......

Does anyone know if you can put your test kits in your carry on luggage for a plane? I've asked TSA but not heard back yet. There is that little bit of liquid that makes me wonder. But, mine say not to open them until the video chat proctoring so I can't take that liquid vial out and put it in my liquids bag.

Several you tubers talk about how many medicines common in the USA are banned in other countries, and stress that you can't have those on you if your cruise is set to stop in those countries. Where can I find a list of what medicines are not allowed in which countries? My stop is Canada, so I'm not expecting too much difference, but I still want to be sure that I don't bring anything I could get in trouble for. I will fly from Vancouver back to the USA and don't want anything, especially a prescription, to get confiscated or get me in trouble. I know to keep the prescriptions in the original packaging.

Probably a dumb question, but many of the cruise you tubers are talking about how Carnival is cutting their chef's table and an Italian restaurant for at least the next 2 months. I'm assuming they only mean their Carnival brand ships. Do they also mean Princess? I'm going to be on Majestic in June Alaska.

Based on what you say in your 1st post it seems like this might just be a mistake. I too don't understand why they would continue listing the excursion with a waitlist option.

I will definitely give the full gratuity. I'm thinking to have them clean at least a few days but maybe not all 7.

wowzz, the difference is that when someone is cleaning I don't know what all they've touched and I would feel the need to clean it again. And I think the room service people could possibly leave things outside or I could meet them outside. I don't know--I've never been on a cruise before and am just trying to learn as much as possible before embarkation.

Thank you all for your responses. I realize that I am coming off as naive and a bit paranoid here, but I am glad I brought up the discussion b/c you've given me some insight I didn't have. I will add that I have a family member at home I need to be protective of so I'd like to do everything I can to avoid getting sick / our family sick. I myself am relatively healthy and have good odds of not getting covid, for a lot of reasons. I would not have chosen this trip now except that I booked it 3 yrs ago and it was rescheduled multiple times; it's with a group so if I miss it now whatever I rescheduled later would not be "the trip" I've looked forward to for so long. DH really wants me to go. I know that surface contact isn't a major mode of transmission of covid but I also want to avoid things like flu and norovirus. I am already planning to mask, avoid elevators, eat a lot of meals in my room (maybe....will see how it goes....) etc. I don't mind things like eating very late or going to the 2nd show etc. I got a balcony so that I can have fresh air and things to look at in case I want to hole up in there sometimes. Based on your responses I think I will get the steward service and see how it goes. It does sound very different than a hotel. I am perhaps feeling more protective of my things since I'm a solo traveler so I will only have one of everything, so if it's gone I don't have a partner with another one.

I should have added that, during covid, when we've gone to hotels we've wiped down every surface (not the walls, but touchable surfaces) with disinfecting wipes. It is a huge chore and the thought of doing it every day after the steward sounds difficult. I realize that this may sound a bit extreme but once we got our hotel room sanitized we truly felt like it was our safe space vs the rest of the hotel. But cruising seems different with a much higher level of service. Also, I just hate having to hide all my things every day.

What will I be missing if I skip room cleaning for a 7 day cruise? My cruise on the Majestic in June to Alaska will be my 1st cruise. Since the pandemic started DH and I have skipped all hotel service (when in hotels on land) and instead have taken out our own trash and requested new towels every day. It's annoying but it does save having another person coming into our room who could bring the virus. But I get the impression that it's more service on a cruise beyond just cleaning--for example, they bring the paper Princess Patter if you want it, and I do want one. If I skip this service on my cruise what will I be missing out on?

I'm still on the fence about whether to go on my Princess cruise to Alaska departing in less than a month (yes I have insurance but would probably end up losing some $ or flight points...). I've built in a buffer day so I disembark in Vancouver and then have a whole day to see the city before flying the next day from V airport around noon. So, I'm planning to do the at home test with the online proctor from my hotel the morning of the free day. What if I test positive? I'm assuming I have a 10 day quarantine in Vancouver and probably not in the Pan Pacific where I've booked. After I'd tell the hotel staff what would happen? I'm going to do everything I can to not get sick but you never know and I want to be prepared. Thanks.

martincath, what do you recommend re: covid testing in Vancouver? I'm considering either getting it done at the Pan Pacific at high cost or doing the much lower cost home test with a video chat. Even though many people talk about doing that video chat test I wonder if I'll get to the airport and it not be accepted. I do think the Pan Pacific's wifi will be good enough for the video chat, however, which is good b/c I don't have to rely on ship wifi. This is to fly from Canada back to the US.

I needed to use points so I didn't book through the cruise line. I don't really regret it yet though, as we had enough points that my 4 flights only took half our points we've saved up. None of us have flown since 2018......

I'm going to Alaska for the first time in a month and just got a new cell phone, partly for the camera, the galaxy S22+. At first glance I am very impressed with it, especially its ability to take good pics in the dark and to zoom more than I'm used to (my previous phone was S9+). But, I always like to have a back up camera if I go on a trip like this, and this seems like a special enough trip that I might want to invest in a new "real" camera. I have zero experience with fancy lenses and big cameras. What types of cameras would you recommend? I'm willing for it to be bigger than the cell phone but not super huge, as I'd like to bring it to port. I've relied on my cell phones for almost all of my photos and videos since 2014 so this is a big departure for me. But the old cameras we have at home already just don't seem good enough. If my cell phone stays operational I think the main reason I'd use an alternate is to zoom in really well.

I knew none of this and booked a 12:30 pm flight when I could easily have gone earlier....oh dear. Too late now to change......

Thank you so much martincath. Sounds like a good plan. 🙂

I was originally supposed to start in Vancouver and end in Whittier, so I booked the Pan Pacific to be close to the cruise port. I rebooked there even though I'm not needing that proximity. Should I change to something else? I like that the Pan P is close to a stop for the hop on, hop off bus etc. It seems to be in walking distance to some things I'd like to see. I've never been to Vancouver before and want to see a variety of things.

Well now I'm just plain scared. I had no idea there were any issues with the Vancouver airport when I booked my flights, with points and nonrefundable. So how early should I get to the airport to be safe? 4 hrs? It's a Monday, June 20. I'm staying in Vancouver for a day so I won't be with the big cruise departure crowd, but of course there could be another cruise arrival / departure I don't know about.

kaerofan, do you mean the one where you don't get off the train and it is only in Alaska? That is the same one I booked when I realized my bus up / train down excursion probably wouldn't happen.

Update: after I asked this question I discovered a short, cheap shore excursion through Princess that includes the cemetery, so I booked it mainly for that. It's a 1.5 hr tour of Skagway. I'm sure I'll learn a lot of other things. I was originally on an 8 hr bus up / train down excursion that I canceled b/c it looks like those won't operation in Canada this year, and I replaced it with the 3 hr train only. So now I have 3 hrs on train, a 2 hr break for lunch, then this Skagway tour. Since we have all day and into the night at Skagway this seemed like a good use of time, with more time at the end to just walk around the town.

I also have United first class, but previous posts here seem to be saying that their idea of "priority security lanes" is not going to help me get through this airport any quicker than if I didn't have first class. Am I reading that correctly? (I have zero experience with anything other than economy, and only got these flight upgrades in an attempt to avoid catching covid.) My flight leaves around 12:30 pm, so I should get to the airport at 9:30 am? Earlier? I have TSA precheck but not global entry and am flying back to the US. I know I need the covid test and am planning to do that the day before at my hotel (I'm disembarking, staying one day in Vancouver, then flying the next day). I'm flying on a Monday if that matters.