karatemom2

25 minutes ago, moodyb1 said:

We were on the NCL Bliss.

We are not traveling near the Bliss - the NCL Jewel was in port with us. 

23 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Was this a Princess excursion?  Wishing all involved and family members a speedy return home.

No, it was a private excursion with a very well known vendor that many cruisers use in Skagway. 

3 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

It definitely makes for a somber cruise. We were onboard Royal Princess in May 2019 when two Ketchikan flightseeing collided. They contained guests from our ship. Princess dispatched their care team to stay with family members and we left port several hours late. 

Yes, sadly Princess has experience dealing with these situations. This is the only report I can find so far. 
 

https://khns.org/tour-bus-accident-on-klondike-highway-causes-injuries-delays-race

We are on the Ruby right now in Skagway and were behind a terrible tour bus accident involving a Chilkoot Charters bus on the Yukon Highway today. We were delayed at a full stop on the road for about two hours, about 15 cars back in what ended up being a very long line of cars and buses stopped while first responders rendered aid. Three ambulances and a helicopter were called to the scene. We found out upon returning to the ship that fellow Princess passengers were involved - I think something like 9 medically evacuated and 10 family members disembarked with assistance of Princess if I understood correctly. It’s just awful - a worst nightmare scenario for these poor people. We have toured with Chilkoot Charters twice on previous trips and they were wonderful. My heart is broken for all involved. Hoping that everyone pulls through and makes a full recovery. 

We are on the Ruby right now on a round trip Alaska cruise out of Vancouver and we were so excited to finally make the cut this trip! We got our invitation to the MTG cocktail party and are looking forward to attending to see what it’s like. Lunch would have been nice, but I’m happy to get this perk. 

We have rented from Alaska Car Rental and are using them again on our trip this week. Very good service, nice cars, and so great having your own transportation in and around Ketchikan. There is so much to see and do outside of town. Totem Bight, Saxman, Herring Cove, Lunch Creek, Ward Lake, etc. I could go on and on. And very easy to drive - basically one road on either side of town that dead ends. Get a car and enjoy the natural beauty!

Not watching the video, but take it from the discussion that you didn’t care for the Gold Creek Salmon Bake. Sorry it wasn’t a good experience for you.  We have been twice and thoroughly enjoyed it both time - tons of food, salmon was good as were all the sides. Food was plentiful and the blueberry cake for dessert was delicious. We loved the beautiful setting, entertainment, and lovely walk to the waterfall. Toasting marshmallows was fun too. Guess everyone finds something different in their experiences but we loved it!

Since you have booked a private tour with Wild Wolf, you could ask if they could drop you in town at the end of the tour instead of back at Ward Cove. Then you would have a little over an hour to walk around town before needing to get in line for the shuttle service. 

I’m going to try to pre book and choose that date and see what happens. 

We often did 14 day round trip cruises from LA to Hawaii with our kids over the holidays when they were young. There were lots and lots of kids. I think one year it was around 800. Most schools give at least two weeks off and we had no problem taking our kids out or sending them back a day or two late if needed. There’s not much learning going on in the days leading up to Christmas vacation or the first couple of days back. I would imagine a Caribbean cruise would attract a lot of families. 

Has anyone ever successfully scheduled the Balcony Dinner for the first evening of the cruise? Not sure it would be available on night one, but thought I’d ask to see if anyone here knows. 

Newport is a very easy place to do on your own. You don’t need a ship tour. We visited Rose Island Lighthouse in the morning and The Breakers in the afternoon. Easy to get around by Uber. Here are a couple of links:

https://roseisland.org/index.php/visit/

https://www.newportmansions.org/mansions-and-gardens/the-breakers/

We have cruised in Alaska every summer month from May to August and our two May trips were beautiful - little rain and maybe a little colder on a couple of days, but overall lovely. One thing of note is that we saw the least amount of wildlife other than eagles on our two May trips. No bears, very few whales, and of course no salmon. But the scenery with the snow still quite low and frozen lakes, was beautiful. 
 

We are taking our first September trip in a couple of weeks, so I’ll report back on how I found it when we return. 

Personally I much prefer enjoying the beauty of Alaska from my own balcony over a crowded public space. The NCL observation lounge is nice, but a mob scene on scenic cruising days where people camp out for hours for the prime front seating. No thank you!

Also, I prefer to view from an outside vantage to really take in the full experience - all the sights, sounds, and view. You just don’t get the same experience sitting inside looking through a window. 
 

I don’t mind the cold - I simply put on the needed outerwear and enjoy. My choice is always a balcony in Alaska. 

33 minutes ago, DUCHESSRN said:

We swop the mini bar for Diet Coke , works well for us.

Same!

Hotels in Anchorage are very pricey in the summer months. We have used the Embassy Suites, Hampton, and La Quinta but they have all become so over priced. We have booked an Air BnB for our next trip in September to visit our son who lives there. It was much more reasonable. 

First, if you plan on fishing on your own, you will need to purchase a fishing license. You can purchase a multi day license to cover the port days you plan to fish. 
 

We generally bring our own poles and gear. DH has some collapsing telescopic rods that we bring along, as well as a small tackle box. You can also rent gear in most towns. 
 

in Ketchikan you can fish off the bridge and docks at Creek Street. Also some good fishing at Ward Lake and Herring Cove. In Juneau you will find people fishing off the docks at the salmon hatchery. We have also fished at the creek at Eagle Beach. 
 

In Sitka, we rented a boat and went ocean fishing for rockfish and halibut. There are also boat rentals in Ketchikan. Just be sure if you plan to DIY boat rental and ocean fishing that you have boat operating and ocean navigation experience. 

We are regular theatre attendees in Los Angeles and have also enjoyed a number of shows in NYC and London. Princess production shows have never been anywhere near that quality. That being said, especially depending on the talent on a particular cruise, some of the shows can be quite enjoyable for what they are, which is basically elaborate variety shows
 

My favorite will always be British Invasion. But some of the newer shows like Magic to Do, Rock Opera and Spotlight Bar are very good if the talent supports them. Honestly, Rock Opera should only ever be performed by Max Himmelreich, easily the best tenor and singer at sea. 
 

I find Five Skies kind of ridiculous - but at least it’s new. 
 

Princess offers a great opportunity for young performers coming out of musical theatre programs and I love supporting them. 
 

But for the most professional shows, NCL still takes the prize. 

Yes, you can use them for any shipboard charges, including casino. 

You will never regret the decision to take an Alaska cruise. I can't address your cruisetour question, as we have only ever done cruises, but we have done many.

Ship excursions in Alaska can be quite expensive and there are a wide variety from very strenuous to very easy - you will have no problem finding options that align with your fitness level. We like to hike - but are certainly not super athletic. There are a lot of low key, beautiful hikes in Alaska. For example, the easy hike to Nugget Falls at Mendenhall Glacier is a good example.

In my estimation, there is NO reason to book a ship excursion in Alaska, unless it is something you can't book privately or if it is an excursion that borders on the edge of your boarding time. We do almost exclusively private tours - lots of very dependable vendors you can learn about here.

Some popular options for each of the main ports:

Juneau: Whale Watching

              Mendenhall Glacier

              Mt. Roberts Tramway

              Shrine of St. Therese

              Gold Rush Mining Museum

              Alaska State Museum

              Treadwell Mine Trail

              Red Dog Saloon

              Gold Creek Salmon Bake

Skagway: White Pass Train

                Yukon Highway

                Dyea - Chilkoot Trail

                Museums - Gold Rush History

                Gold Rush Cemetery

                Various hiking options

                Days of 98 Show

                Red Onion Saloon

                Liarsville

                Carcross

Ketchikan: Creek Street

                 Salmon Run in season

                 Herring Cove (bears in salmon season)

                 Saxman Native Village

                 Totem Bight Park

                 Lumberjack Show

                 Ward Lake

                 Lunch Creek and Trail

Other ports offer some highlights as well - Icy Strait Point is great for bears and whale watching, Sitka offers wonderful Russian History, Fortress of the Bear, Raptor Center, etc.

There is a wealth of things to do at each port - we find often the best way to explore is to rent a car, do our research and do things we want to do on our own. But also, again, many private vendors who offer great tours.

As you do more research, this board is a great place to ask questions.

48 minutes ago, D1324tt said:

Thanks for the replies. The reason for the question we are having friends picking us up and I'm hoping they can avoid morning rush hour by getting to the pier a little later in the morning.

Any chance you could do early walk off? That’s what we usually do and it definitely gets you out in front of the crowds. On our recent Sky cruise we walked off the ship just a few minutes after 7 and were in our car service by 7:30. It was a breeze. 

1 hour ago, Yehootu said:

We prefer to leave our cabin as late as possible and make sure that's OK with our Steward, Why? because we'd rather bypass the hordes bailing off as soon as the flood gates open. We usually don't book a flight right out as we hate a stressed out travel day. Of course we get off before last call, just don't like to hang out in crowded lounges or long lines.

With all due respect, of course your steward is going to say “OK”. They are trained to accommodate passengers and will comply with their requests. But ultimately when you don’t leave by the requested time of 8:30 am, you are making their job harder. Turn around cleaning is much more intense and time consuming then daily cabin refresh. It takes a long time and they have a lot of cabins. Imagine if they had a bunch of people making similar requests? As it is, they probably end up having to clean your cabin last and it messes up their schedule. 
 

These employees work so hard already and have so many rooms to clean, I just think it is common courtesy to comply with the time schedule and not make their job harder. It’s not hard to find a lounge to wait comfortably if need be. 

1 hour ago, danny8826 said:

 

I watched more Youtube videos about Alesund last night.  I also wanted to add that if we decide to spend the day in Alesund, we will likely do the Hop On Hop Off because that seems like a good option to save some time and see more of the city.  

 
Seemed lots of people opted for that and found it convenient. They go to Aksla viewpoint as well. 

6 hours ago, danny8826 said:

 

You read my mind completely.  That's exactly what i was thinking.  On one way, I wanted to do the tour, but it doesn't look like a complete tour and plus I will be missing out on the city of Alesund.  is it worth $149 p/p?  

Did you walk around in Alesund on your own or did the tiny train take you to a lot of those places?  I heard the city is walkable, but that also depends on each person.  I really want to do/see Aksla.  I have seen so much pictures of it that it's a must do now for me.  

We did it all on our own. We first grabbed an Uber (which in Norway are Taxis) to the Aquarium - very nice Aquarium in a beautiful setting. We spent about 90 minutes there. Then we taxied back to the Harbor and went to the Fisheries museum. My husband is owns two commercial lobster fishing vessels here in CA, so we are particularly interested in these things, but there were a number of other museums in town, including the art deco museum which many people seemed to really enjoy. We stopped and ate at a great outdoor fish and chips place on the canal with gorgeous views. After lunch we took the Tiny Train to Mount Aksla which was a good way to take in the view and also get a narrated tour of the city to decide where we wanted to visit after and learn a bit more about the history. We then just walked the streets, stopping in different shops, vintage stores, and admiring the beautiful buildings and the canal. We considered doing a kayak trip in the canal but just didn't have time to fit it in. Very full and lovely day. 

We were very lucky to have an outstanding itinerary which you can read about in my review that I posted earlier in this thread.

2 hours ago, danny8826 said:

 

I did booked the, Tour from Alesund to Trollstigen, The Land Of The Trolls, but I haven't decided if I will keep the tour.  It does end with Aksla Viewpoint which is good because that's one of things we wanted to do in Alesund.   

https://www.viator.com/tours/Alesund/Trollstigen-The-Land-Of-The-Trolls/d4312-75068P1

 

Did you walk around the port?  I mainly wanted to take some pictures of those unique architectural buildings.  Our tour starts at 9 AM and the ship gets in at 7 AM.  I guess we can walk around the port to take some pictures before we join the tour.  

We recently experienced the same dilemma. It was a hard decision for us initially when we booked the Trollstigen excursion, because I knew it meant basically giving up the day in Alesund, a city I very much wanted to explore.

The Trollstigen was closed while we were on our cruise, just a few days before we were scheduled for the tour. After some careful consideration, we opted to cancel as the two main reasons we booked were to be able to experience actually driving the road and to get to the bottom to see Trollveggen. We knew the scenery would probably still be lovely, but we had already seen so much beautiful and similar scenery, that we decided it wasn't worth it to give up our entire day in Alesund.

Others in our group opted to stay on the tour and ended up sharing they really enjoyed it, but we will never regret our decision to stay and explore the town. We took the tiny train to the Aksla overlook, went to the Aquarium, visited the harbor and fisheries museum, and explored all of the beautiful streets and Art Nouveau architecture. It was a really perfect day and I would have been sad to miss that absolutely charming town and all it had to offer. Just my perspective.