SoloAlaska

I’m a millennial cruiser and I barely bother going to the shows. I found on the smaller vessels that I prefer the performers weren’t to the standard I expect. With celebrity honestly most of the cast of my high school musicals was better. I expect the show on a ship to be better than my high school or just don’t bother putting them on. I’ll go see the comedian but otherwise you’ll find me in a bar with a duet or something in the background. Quick note I went to an art school and several of the cast ended up on broadway including one of the main actresses in Come From Away. I know my standards are higher than most.

Perfect I board encore December 3rd

Hopefully this will mean major improvements in the IT department. Lots of great IT departments in the world who cost a lot less than mediocre ones in North America. I have a friend who coordinates for a team in India from Canada and know an American who moved to India to start an IT branch of a company from Alaska. I hope all the staff who were laid off got good packages and will find something else quickly. People especially in IT know that big layoffs happen regularly and should be prepared for it sadly. This isn’t anything new.

We have found some compromises. This is the last chance for a big family trip since my grandmother is 84. We are learning from each others experiences. He can’t believe the deals I get and I’m learning that I get anxious when giving up so much control. No matter what we will enjoy the cruise. We will be doing a mix of private and cruise line excursions. Private is easier with my grandmother but cruise line is better for my cousins who aren’t big travelers. There’s something for everyone and it’s all about discovering what works best for you.

I’m flying to London from Montreal with air transat (with a porter codeshare) for $455 CAD. Same with NCL bogo flights, they are often more than booking on my own and I rather have control over my flights. I could have flown TAP for a few bucks cheaper but would have lost 3-4 hours in London which is worth much more than $20 to me. The Ottawa to FLL on porter comes in much later in the evening on the direct flight so my uncle didn’t Want to take the risk. Anyways the flight now has become very expensive at $960 CAD return and that’s by adding a day at the end of our cruise to save on air. We paid a little less with AC and get free luggage with them. Either way I’m not too happy and flying from Canada has become insanely expensive with certain cities.

Your welcome. I try to make sure I have enough cash for the biggest tip I could imagine giving and if I give a more normal tip then I just have some spending money in my pocket. There’s probably no ATM at the edge of a dock so be prepared for what your comfortable giving.

I can’t recommend AllTrails enough. It’s a fabulous app with so much great information for hiking all over.

Exactly as eggs2go said. I search with 2 then search for one and the prices are the same. I’m on the Encore Westbound in December. The balcony price was too good to pass up. A balcony is cheaper than a Studio 🥳.

You don’t need cash for the skytrain I know they take credit and assume other transit is the same as is transit in most major cities in Canada. I would maybe get a few $5 bills if you want small cash to tip with but honestly if you hand someone in Vancouver a US tip they won’t complain either. Otherwise in Canada we mostly tap for payments and lots of people pay with their phones or watches. Ok so I always wanted to go on a floatplane and there is a place right next to the dock in Vancouver. I took a plane to Vancouver island which was really affordable especially compared to tours in Alaska. If your interested in a float plane ride I highly recommend checking out Harbour Air. biggest tip for Alaska is expect a range of weather and enjoy it all to its fullest. Your cruise will be mostly in a rainforest so chances are you will get some rain. Bring good rain gear and don’t let it stop you from seeing Alaska.

Very here’s a screenshot. The 4 is where you’ll find the start to most of the hikes and the dot on the left is for Yukutania point. The later is a much easier hike. I was chatting with the trail developer of it when I was struggling to breathe and he said it didn’t have the same terrain challenges which I found too hard to tackle that day.

Did a very quick search and there are some TAs without any supplement coming up. I love TAs but know not everyone does.

6-8 months for international and 4-5 months for transborder and domedtic is my rule of thumb. I learnt to never book as soon as the flight is released. Air Canada released its flights a month before Porter and was very expensive. Once porter released Air Canada lowered its prices. My uncle insisted we book our flights with Air Canada which was expensive but arrived much earlier. He really wanted direct. A month later our flights were changed and no longer direct. The only good news is because of the change if our flights price goes down I can cancel and rebook without penalty.

One of the Christmas markets I went to in Barcelona was so insanely crowded. It was an incredible market and I bought some beautiful souvenirs but honestly I would not be carrying an expensive tote with me. I had my cute crossbody bag tucked under my arm and a packable shopping bag for my shopping.

Yes this happens. You won’t have access to the solo lounge except if there is the solo meetups held in that space. On cruises with no solo supplement on regular cabins the solo designated is more expensive and usually worse locations. You just have to figure out if the coffee in the lounge is worth spending more on the solo cabin or not.

We use WhatsApp anytime we travel anywhere. Everyone I know has it including my 84 year old grandmother. My ex and I always used WhatsApp instead of sms since often one of us was traveling.

Separate aka clean utensils probably. Separate ovens probably not. Just basic food hygiene stuff is all you can expect.

Really depends on the cruise. I like booking cruises with no solo supplement so the regular cabins are often cheaper. I booked my TA 5 months out and it was cheaper than the solo cabins where when they were available. Now looking forward to a price drop after final payment and getting some FCC.

My experience comes from working in adventure tourism not from chartering a private whale watching tour. Unless the tour was marked “tips included” I would expect a tip in the US to be at minimum 15% if the tour was ok. Somewhere around $500 would be decent but for a really good tour you can definitely tip $800 or more. Thing to keep in mind is that the season of tourism especially with wildlife is short and hit or miss. Prices and tips are there to reflect that.

KetchiCandies makes amazing chocolates that were a big hit with my family and friends. They have some great Alaskan flavors as well.

For trail walks like these your ideal is a goretex trail running shoe type. Honestly Nugget Falls can be done in pretty much any footwear. For more serious hiking in Alaska I always bring my Goretex hiking boots which border on backpacking boots. The hiking I do is full of rougher terrain and the last thing I want on a solo hike is to twist my ankle and not be able to make it back to the ship in time.

Whaterproof boots and pack are my hiking essentials in Alaska in September. Juneau I’m planning to take the tram up then hike to gastineau and then all the way back to the ship. Skagway I’ve done lower Dewey and swam in the lake which was awesome but this year the goal is Punch Bowl Ketchikan I am undecided if I’ll hike or not since I’m in ward cove which I hear is difficult at best so I might just spend the day relaxing on the ship. Seward I have several options but some will cost and some are free but locals have strongly stated I shouldn’t hike solo on those trails. I might have a hiking buddy for the day who is local so if I do that I will let them pick the trail.

I’m taking it up only this year. With NCL the tram “excursion” is free so I’m just using it as a way to get up the mountain before hiking around and then down.

porters who put your luggage on carts aren’t at every port. There’s always a way to get a tag however. In Anchorage the lineup to get a tag was about 20-30 minutes long when going to board the train. Or I could just walk by the giant line with my luggage and drop it off. Next time I saw it was at my cabin door. There was no carts since the luggage goes onto a big truck and heads to the pier while we took a beautiful scenic train ride. Rome/Civi doesn’t really do the porter thing either you just go through a small line and hand over your luggage to a guy at a table which then goes onto getting scanned before being put on a cart. I did forget to bring my tags on that cruise and he did write one up for me though.

Poncho yes…. But not that one. I have a lightweight cute poncho which is a swimsuit cover up. An activewear type dress is also nice since it dries quickly but looks cute. A kaftan type dress also works. I even have a kimono sleeve open front top which is on the long side and I will wear belted as a cover up. Tons of options out there that don’t make you look like your wearing a giant blanket.

I usually always fly Air Canada for the miles and my perks but when another airline is half the price those perks and miles really make no sense financially. I’m flying Montreal to Gatwick on December 1st. Main cabin was $931 CAD with AC and I got my flight for $450 CAD on Air Transat.