LCW

We did the land tour after our cruise (northbound). Princess provided rooms and transportation, but that's it, no tours. We chose that option. We've been to Alaska before, just w/o our daughter. This was for her. We were requested to be in the disembarkation lounge by 0700. Very shortly after that, our group was called to disembark. We transferred to the bus fairly quickly. As the tunnel from Whittier changes direction at specific times, we didn’t leave until 0800, and had maybe 5 or 10 min to wait to go thru the tunnel. After about an hour, we stopped at a marshland park in Turnagain Arm. Spent about 15-20 min there, long enough to let the wheelchair lady use the facilities, and for the bus driver to clean up the mess from the kid that threw up in the aisle (he wouldn’t sit down…so we don’t know if it was motion sickness or Covid). Masks not enforced on the bus. The driver did provide some interesting info during the trip. We continued on to the Princess McKinley Lodge, where we had a box lunch. FYI, the main lodge room is very cold…it was warmer outside. However, there are 2 other rooms, one by the coffee bar and the other with tables/chairs, that were normal temperatures. As it was raining, we didn’t get to see the mountain. 45 min later, we were back on the bus to Denali. We arrived at the Princess Denali about 4pm, give or take a few minutes. Our package was handed to us when we got on the bus, so we had our room assignments and keys in hand. The previous occupant’s luggage was still in our room, so we just set it outside. For a family of 3, they gave us 2 queens. Dinner at Fannie Q saloon. Good size meal, ok taste. Good service. Long day, so we took it easy. Checked luggage had to be out by 0700 next am for transfer. The next am, we got up early, grabbed some food at the coffee bar, and caught the 0700 shuttle to the Park at the flagpoles out front. Buses seem to run every 30 min. The driver dropped us off at the Horseshoe Lake Trailhead parking lot – only ones there, not sure if it was the rain or early hour that gave us our private hike. Did our traditional family hike down to the lake ( I lived in Alaska 6 yrs when I was little). The Alaska State bird (Mosquitos) were out in force by the lake, so didn’t sit still, but did get to see the beaver dam that created the lake - Impressive! A pleasant, relatively easy hike, although the views of the lake are harder to see than 20 years ago, due to growth of the surrounding trees. The trail has been improved since we did it last, with some steps built in the steeper sections. The trail head is just down the railroad tracks from the parking lot. We made it back just in time to catch a shuttle heading to the visitor’s center. The drop off point has a little store that is not connected to the visitor center store. Restrooms are just up the hill, and follow the signs to the visitor center store and visitor center itself. Masks enforced in the visitor center. Watched one of the movies, got our NPS passport stamp. Back to the lodge, checked out by 11. DH went across the street to do some shopping. We grabbed a bite @ the pizza place in the lodge… not too bad, considering where you are. On the buss by 1:30, headed towards McKinley Wilderness Lodge. No wildlife sightings, as it’s still raining. Arrived @ McKinley Lodge around check-in time. Handed our package with keys when we got off the bus. This property is more spread out, so some people opted for the shuttle to their rooms. We were in bldg. 17, so just walked down the hill a short way. Our bldg. is next to the theater, so stopped by for the mountain climbing talk by Todd Huston. His story as a mountain climbing amputee is very inspiring. Dinner at the restaurant next door. The weather cleared a bit after dinner, so spent a couple hours on the lodge deck hoping the mountain would show; unfortunately she was being coy that day. But, as there is a 70% chance you WON”T see the mountain on any given day, that’s fine. Luggage had to be out by 0900 for transfer this am. Walked up to the treehouse, which was further than we expected (FYI, no restroom up there). The shuttle will drop you off at an intersection, then walk up hill until you see a gravel road with a sign pointing to the treehouse. Continue uphill on that gravel road, and you eventually come to it. Nice view, if the weather cooperates. They show the Treehouse Master’s episode on the TV, which we watched. Check out again by 11, caught the bus to the train station @1245. Seats are assigned on the train, in the dome section. They ask you shortly after arrival if you’d like to eat lunch downstairs, which we did. Good burger, but didn’t care for seafood chowder. Saw some moose on the trip. Full bar in domed section, bill is separate from the dinning car section. There is no overhead storage, so unlike the bus, we checked our carryon when we got onboard. No issues getting it when we got off. Arrived in Alaska around 6pm, but had to wait awhile before they allowed us to exit the train. We took a bus to the Captain Cook hotel, a nice but dated hotel in downtown Anchorage. Hotel issues: We got to our room, only to find out there was just a king bed, and no space for a rollaway for our teen daughter. They offered us a room with 2 full beds (not much bigger than a twin), not 2 queens like the lodges. This is when we found out that booking a premium suite on the cruise has no impact on your hotel room for the land portion. We have some medical issues that require a bit more room that this offered, so the hotel eventually upgraded us to a suite. Grateful to the hotel for working with us when the cruise line didn’t seem to care. Not a great deal of things to do in Anchorage that are family related and short. Most tours are half day or longer. Ate dinner at Humpy’s, which has excellent fish and chips. Around 1130pm, had a little earthquake (4.7), which felt like a semi rolling by (we were on the 19th floor). But it was short. The next am, we slept in, left our checked luggage in the room per instruction, and dropped our carry-ons at the bell desk. Lunch at the Sandwich Deck across the street, which was decent. Then walked to the Trolley Tours and Visitor center. There are no bathrooms @ the visitor center, so you have to go across the street to the Alaska Public Lands Information Center. Give yourself time, as you must go through a metal detector. After the 1 hour Trolley Tour (Which I recommend), we did a bit of shopping, then headed to the Info. Center. They had a presentation from the Zoo with a live porcupine. We stayed and watched the next 3 short movies, as we had a late flight. Dinner at Uncle Joe’s Pizza, the best pizza we had all vacation. Got our bags around 7pm, to meet the bus at 7:15pm. Bus was loaded early 7:05pm, and took off, but had to turn around as we were missing 1 person. Still managed to leave on time. At the airport, took a few min. to get our bags, then had to walk a ways to Delta check-in. No issues with getting through TSA. Stopped to grab last minute gifts for dog sitter, then headed to our gate. Bottom Line: I’d recommend you stay 2 nights in Denali if you’ve never been, because it is a long trip and you need the extra time in the park. Also, it’s probably better to fly out of Fairbanks if airfare allows, so you don’t have the long bus ride. For us, the cost was significantly cheaper to go out of Anchorage. Was the land portion worth it? Once yes. As this is our 2nd time (daughter's 1st), I'd say no. Teenager was unimpressed/bored with the land portion.

We booked several spa treatments on our 2 July Alaskan Cruise, and attended a couple "free" information sessions. Here's our take: - Husband did the seaweed wrap with massage. Outstanding deep tissue massage. Raved about it all day. Wasn't impressed by the wrap - We both signed up for the Enclave. To me, this was the best value in the spa. No kids or alcohol in the enclave. I enjoyed the pool with the reflexology jets (did my feet/legs a lot of good). 4 showers of different temps allowed you to cool off. I skipped the steam room, but did use the eucalyptus steam room. Didn't care for the sauna, as it wasn't wood. The benches were very hot, but the air wasn't. $162 for the week, and I used it at least 4 times for over a hour each time. - "Man Cave" treatment. A package for husband, included facial and haircut. He hated the haircut, as the stylist didn't listen to him when he told him how he liked his hair cut. - Red Carpet Blowout. Disappointing. Same stylist has husband had, asked me if I wanted my hair blown straight. Told him I preferred wavy. He blow dried it straight. When I told him i wanted it wavy, he said I should have said so. I told him "I did!". Turned out OK in the end, but annoyed he didn't listen. - Facial. I suppose it was a good facial. Aleseandra did a good massage. I'm just not big on facials, but got it to use their 10%, 20%, 30% discount. Won't do it again, but then, I don't really like facials. Not her fault. - Mani/pedi - Best service I got. Jesusha (Jes) did an excellent job. - Couples massage - Disappointing for husband, ok for me. Got the bamboo. We like deep tissue. He had to keep asking the therapist to stay away from certain areas, and focus on others. Mine was fine, no complaints, but then it wasn't outstanding either. - Free 'hair' consultation. Yeah, skip this. It's an opportunity to sell product and services. - Weight loss talk. This is the alkaline plan - they give a semi-convincing talk for free, then you sign up for individual 'consultation where the personal trainer tells you your assessed body fat after you stand on a special 'scale'. I'm 10 lbs overweight, and BMI of 27.5 (ideal 24.5) He told me I was 15 lbs overweight with a BMI of 40!!!! I'd be horribly obese and on death's door if that were the case. He also told me that my body type is 'Weak' - I walk 50+ miles a week, do strength training and yoga - so he lost me there with his BS. He lost my husband when he told him that, despite the fact you shouldn't take vitamins as they're useless, he should spend $700+ on a 3-6 month supply of pills that will make his body more alkaline. Hard sell to get you to sign before you leave your 'personal session', for which he also expects an 18% tip. BIGGEST RIP OFF OF THE CRUISE! DON"T DO IT!!! So, in retrospect, I'd skip the 10%, 20%, 30% deal as most of that I don't really want anyway. I'd skip any 'free' talks as they are just ways to get you to spend more money. Nail services were great, and I loved the Enclave. Almost everything else I could have done without.

So, end result of trying to rebook. If you don't have insurance, cancellations fees are in full force, so 75% if w/in 30 days, despite Princess changing the requirements w/o notice. With 'cancel anytime' insurance, you only get 75% of that fee back...so it would have been around $9K for the 75% fee, with insurance it lowers to btwn a $2K and $3K loss. Plus any change in price for rebooking to a future year. For us, the fees + change in cost amounted to around $5K (we splurged on a suite) - As we're unwilling to walk away from such a large amount, esp. since college tuition payments are looming in the near future, we're stuck. I'll just have to stay in the cabin or on outer deck most of the time, so I don't' risk mask induced breathing issues. Would have pushed this out to 2023 when they cancelled the 1st cruise, but they didn't give us that option. Coupled with the issues we had when husband was injured on a ship-sponsored shore excursion during our last Princess cruise, and the medical fees we had to pay out of pocket for the stitches despite having the cruise insurance, we're not happy with Princess. This makes 2 cruises in a row that we won't be able to fully enjoy ourselves through no fault of our own, with zero compensation from Princess.

I may have missed it earlier....Did you have to wear a mask during the land portion (buses, trains, etc)?

italy52...Pls let us know about your experience....We'll be following you on the 2nd.

OH, just found this out...CDC investigation ongoing for my ship...

So, being told we CAN rebook, but they want to charge us a 75% cancellation fee, despite the fact that they are having outbreaks on the ships and we are high risk. Now we have to talk to the insurance company to see if they will compensate us for the cancellation fee due to our medical status.

Well, this has been an interesting thread, but I got my answer. As masks are now required, there seems to be lack of cleaning protocols compared to earlier in the season, and an increase in cases, we will have to postpone. I can't wear a mask as it exacerbates my condition (And the mask didn't prevent me from getting two colds), and I'm high risk for covid. I don't want to be trapped in my cabin on a cruise I spend $10K for. What I find interesting is we've gotten several different answers on mask requirements from Princess. One lady on chat told us that masks were only required IN Vancouver and IN Whittier. Another rep told us they weren't required, then the last that they were. Seems Princess has a lot of training to do with their customer facing staff.

IT appears that Princess is now requiring masks onboard for cruises between Vancouver and Whittier. Would like to confirm with someone who has been onboard recently, as Princess reps giving me different answers.

Yes, although did make it to Vanda once.

Egalitarian? You spend thousands of dollars on a cruise to be waited on and cleaned up after by people from 3rd world nations and you don't like clothes that aren't egalitarian? What type of clothes would those be exactly? Medals are not fashion statements. Neither are they political statements. I don't need to beat the Jones because I AM a Jones 🙂 so I don't need to keep up with myself. And I welcome other nationalities to where their uniforms and medals. They remind me of my shipmates who are no longer with us, of the camaraderie we shared and our joint sacrifices. My intent was to gauge whether wearing the medals is an appropriate way to recognize the Nation's birthday.

WHen were you in Antarctica???? 87-90!

Resurrecting this topic.... I am cruising to Alaska over July 4th, an at sea day and likely a formal night (2nd night of cruise). The VA is encouraging veteran's to where their medals - "On significant holidays", such as Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, etc. I am considering wearing my miniature medals with my civilian formal attire. I normally wouldn't, but as the cruise is primarily in US waters, thinking it would be OK. However, wondering how people will react, as I'm female. I sometimes get people looking at me funny when I where my veteran's ball cap, and some ask if my husband is the veteran. Even had a reporter at the WWII Memorial ask my husband if he was a vet, only to have her walk away when he said "no", ignoring me completely. What are your thoughts? Ever seen a female vet where her medals?

Vancouver, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and anchorage on this cruise. Where, in your opinion is the best restaurant for fresh king crab?

We only are at the lodge overnight, so long tours are not an option. The ship has several tours, but wondering if there is enough to do at the hotel for one evening/next morning. I understand there are talks and a Treehouse? I understand there is a shuttle to Talkeetna, but it's an hour's drive, so not really interested in that. Have a 14 yr old girl with us. This is the last stop before the train back to Anchorage and then home. Should we chill or bit the bullet and do one last tour? If so, what do you recommend?