Kingsmom

I have to agree. I recently spent WAY too much time planning a cruise around what I thought would make my 17yo son and his friend happy. The water slides and ropes courses weren't it.

I thought I would add some photos of our trip. I REALLY enjoyed our cove balcony (#2294). The location was perfect and our view was spectacular. I would book that room again in a heartbeat! We also were pleased to witness a young whale having the time of his/her life frolicking around. Now that we've been home for a bit, I can reflect on what a good time we had. Even the teens are still talking about it. I think they really did enjoy themselves. 😉

I'm flip flopping all over the place trying to decide between flying into Seattle or Vancouver the day before. I have hotels book in both places. Just saw a Queen room at the YMCA open up and it ended up being $50 less than the BH. So, if I go with Vancouver, I will probably stay there versus the BH. I really enjoy planning but making a decision is not my strong suit!

Yes! That was my mistake. I've corrected that error!

Thank you! I will take a look at some of these.

I completely revamped my upcoming cruise itinerary and my husband and I have decided to fly into Seattle the day before our Alaska cruise and take the train up to Vancouver the morning of. Financially, it just worked out WAY better. Plus we've never been to Seattle. Therefore, I ask you experts.....where should someone stay who has never been to Seattle that is convenient to the catching the train but also seeing some of the sites? Also, which train station do we depart from? I'm assuming the King Street Station? We fly in from SFO around 11:00am on a Tuesday in July. Looks like the earliest train to Vancouver on Wednesday leaves around 6am, the next around 7:00am. I appreciate your help. Edited to add: I think I have the wrong schedule for the train.... Seattle King Street to Vancouver Pacific Central Station leaves SEA at 8:30am.

I just double booked both the YMCA and the Blue Horizon for early July. The YMCA ended being $1 more. Is there any reason to choose one over the other?

I think (hope) so. I just put a deposit down for a July trip on the Grand Princess to Alaska. I plan to use the AARP GC's to pay for the balance. When we cruised Carnival, I brought several on board and was able to use them to pay down my on board credit. I will do the same on the Princess cruise. I tried, unsuccessfully, on the Carnival cruise to add GC funds to my casino account and then cash it out. So whatever you don't use, you lose unless you have them put it back on the gift card for a future use. It's a delicate dance. I just ended up gambling away the extra (it was not a lot).

The problem that *could* arise is the shuttle service having difficulty GETTING INTO the port area Saturday morning to pick you up at your requested time. It is an absolute nightmare getting into port.

I started reading through this post a while ago when an Alaska cruise was a far off dream. I've been wanting to cruise to Alaska for years. Well, today, I put a deposit down on one. It's not 100% what I would have chosen but close enough. What made me finally pull the trigger was that the dates line up, it is a one-way (NB) through IP, the fare was discounted, and the room I wanted was actually available. I am very excited to now go back through all of these posts and actually start the detailed planning! I know the costs are going to start adding up but the rates right now seem so much more manageable than if I waited a year.... Enjoy your cruise. I cannot wait to hear more about it.

This is very helpful. I just booked the NB route this morning on Grand Princess. Ideally, I would have done the SB route to catch this section during more ideal viewing hours but it is what it is. I'll plan to sleep less during these hours 😉

We never had an issue. Longest wait was probably 5-7 minutes while they cooked more. I always saw at least two people working.

We didn't smell any either....anywhere! Glad to have a first hand report on the public transport in LB. We thought about taking the bus to port as well. There was a stop right outside our hotel but we WAY overpacked! Sounds like you had a great trip.

Ugh. I thought I saw one there.

I would love to tell you that you would be fine but there are so many variables at play. We were lucky in that: - The boat arrived on time back in Long Beach from Ensenada (7:30am) - We opted for the Express Debarkation and carried off our luggage (9:30am) * They did have earlier options and if you get FFTF you may even be earlier. - We had passports which allowed for an easier walk through customs - The line for the taxi was fairly short (waited approx 15 mins). Turn left immediately once out of the terminal. Taxi's are to the left of the parking garage. The larger the car you need, the longer the wait. - There was no traffic getting to LGB (about 10 min drive) - The TSA line was unbelievably short (like we were the only ones in line) - We started boarding at 11:40am and were in C group (literally the last people on the plane) Any hiccups in any one of those situations could potentially set you back. What airline are you flying? We flew Southwest and had the option to chose standby (or pay to guarantee) once I realized we would make it. We kept the later flight just in case. Once approved for standby those tickets were moot. Good luck! It certainly was nice to be home earlier. But if it will add more stress to the end of your vacation it may not be worth it?