sharon_pei

I am not sure what's the expected experience, but every time I log into my Princess account (web version, not that new app), it has nothing about my upcoming trip. I will have to go to booked guests tab and manually link my reservation EACH AND EVERY TIME to see my trip. Is this expected? or is it something about their website that I don't get it? It's such a pain to have to go search for the booking # along with re-typing name, DOB, etc every time. I don't even know what's the use of this princess account at all if it doesn't link to one's booking. So I wonder maybe there is something about it that I am not getting yet. Pls help. thanks!

something like this: https://www.amazon.com/NATCHILL-Chicken-Heating-Instant-Noodles/dp/B0B51T5HCD/ref=sr_1_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Oz4ADcv3EK05VvZ3gQjOZUyVh2_waBGxMqhUuzWHP9jlfQTD483fqOStKzRV3p5oA_fBRhscroSd8bvc0S8JFImtYIqJcYye1Mw2djyZkjH42ekVdoKdqCh5lnJ3H8KwUI2e1qEh3T0vyv0LuGUJFXQaT6lZ7iT44rcPagjyOz-usqujzLuzA1QvtXEhMLVfT3u3aB7bZq_b9eCCnNWsdOuCE0T3GjrBE9y8LRIkrkleyS6ZgdGWFyBSejUzwoC3BhSyBA1-MgQ0gmXQnil48r9SV7McuaybX5cz83bVA6U.31YLkKXiXlFdDZv3SNI4-q4LCEUWzHBxx5MmNWS2j3k&dib_tag=se&keywords=self+heating+food&qid=1714347502&sr=8-3

We are thinking of bringing the following. Anyone knows if any of these are not allowed by Princess pls? 1) a small piece of fresh ginger for sea sickness treatment 2). energy bars and possibly other snacks that we plan to buy in Vancouver for the dyi land tour after the cruise journey (Vancouver should have much wider and easier selections of food than Anchorage, and we will only have a 3 days after cruise and won't want to waste time on grocery shopping) 3). a few packages of those self cooking food (for the land tour part) that are sold on amazon. those would include a small pack of water in the package (very small though).

I am not sure about the $350/adult price quoted here: i am seeing a staggering $459.95/adult price in my princess app (for this June), which completely makes it a no-go. i'm sure its amazing, but life has many amazing things that won't take $$ like this. You can see that most people are not so crazy about how amazing this experience is going to be at this price point as all 20 tickets are unclaimed for.

Now i am a bit confused: in a different thread it was mentioned that it would take someone who is experienced in mountainous driving to drive this route and in case weather gets wet and foggy, it's not necessarily a safe drive. But a lot of people encouraging self drive have said the drive is easy and has nothing to be concerned of. Which one is true? For someone who isn't confident in long distance mountainous driving, is it something to avoid to be safe (since nobody has a crystal ball for weather)?

Quick Q on grabbing breakfast and sitting outside: at 6am would it not be freezing outside, or am I overestimating the brutality of alaska temperature?

Am i understanding it right that for those who stay in interior cabins, we would need to choose between going out to the deck to see glaciers vs staying indoor at 'visitor center' to learn from the park rangers? I can see why balcony cabins have a huge advantage here now.

would not a bear bell work better?

May i ask if one needs to worry about bear risk in any of these recommended places? We are planning to hit most of these and want to be conservative, but the fact that one can't bring bear spray back to cruise ship is a bothering us.

I checked ACT's schedule and it's pickup time is 8:45am. Is it too risky considering the disembarkation would involve 2600+ (for princess) people. so i am thinking using cruiseline's transfer could be a bit worry-free.

I saw a few threads about Princess transfers to get people to and from Whittier, but I logged into my account on their app and found no information about it whatsoever. Wonder how to book this transfer directly with Princess if its not in their new app?

we've booked Bennett lake tour via Chilkoot, but reading a lot of good experience of self drive makes me start to consider the self drive option, except that avis only has super expensive rentals left (~$400 for a day). May I ask from where did you guys get rental cars in Skygway?

Thank you for the detailed information. Does this mean for a scheduled 6am-3pm glacier bay stop, late risers can get up at 8am without missing glacier views? that sounds so much better!

Beginning my day at 6 a.m. is incredibly challenging -- it tends to leave me feeling disabled for the remainder of the day. I'm curious to know how much is sacrificed for night owls like myself who struggle to function before 7:30 at the earliest.

May I also ask if one needs to carry bear spray for this itinerary? Also, would we be able to take bear spray onto a cruise ship if we purchase one here and hopefully don't use it? We wouldn't do too much hiking this time: maybe this itinerary in Juneau (plus the hiking trails on the top of Mt Robert if nice weather), and Exit glacier vista hike in Seward. The rest would be guided tours or just stroll around vista points. So I wonder if its still a good idea to get bear spray and if so at which port shall we get it?

yeah. acknowledged. that's the exact reason for this thread: to see if we need to have a backup plan in case if this self drive itinerary is weather dependent (same as Mt Robert Tram). If so, we want to be prepared.

Just that rainy/foggy weather that might create visibility issue for scenery -- we are mainly after nice scenery (ideally with glaciers). For example, lots of recommendation on skipping the Mr robert tram if it rains. btw, we are going in 2nd week of June.

We are planning to do dyi self driving based exploration in Juneau following the guidance from this forum on : Mendenhall Glacier first...... From there drive north with stops at Shrine of St Terese and Eagle Beach.....From there return to town, take the bridge to Douglas Island turn left at the round about and drive to the end of the road....... Treadwell Trail Just wonder if we do so, are we vulnerable to bad weather in case of bad luck? I also heard that this itinerary (except the Mendenhall glacier part) is more for those who've been to Juneau before than for 1st time visitors. is it so? we are not that into whale watching, and one of us refuses to get onto a small aircraft, hence the dyi idea. but want to double check if it's good before committing.

I do believe there will be other opportunities of seeing glaciers, like in glacier bay. so i plan to skip Mendenhall. Now, the question arises: what activities should we pursue in this port? Based on our research, the popular options are as follows: Tram ride: We're thinking about it, but it depends on the weather and might not take up the whole day. Strolling around town: Not really our thing, to be honest. Whale watching: We've done this so many times before, it's not high on our list this time. Helicopter glacier landing: Sounds cool, but it's a bit out of our budget since we're already splurging on the Skagway train/bus tour and Matanuska trek. Salmon bake or gold panning: not really our cup of tea. Renting a car to explore outside of downtown: This seems like our best bet, but we're not sure if it's more suited for people who've been to Juneau a bunch of times and have seen it all.

Thank you, everyone! It seems we've reached a consensus that bringing swimwear would be a good idea. The reason I was hesitating wasn't just because of the size of the swimwear itself, but also the hassle of washing and drying it in a very small bath sink (well, judging from the online pictures, lol).

We understand that Alaska is not typically associated with swimming opportunities. However, considering the several days at sea and the presence of covered pools shown on the deck plan, we wonder if it might be worth packing swimwear. Our main query is whether the heating is turned on in the covered pool area, essentially making it an indoor pool that is weather and temperature-proof. We will be sailing on the Princess Sapphire in June. Thanks!

This is sooooo helpful! Really appreciate the help from this board for 1st time cruisers!

I'm now seriously considering dropping off our bags and checking in around 2 pm to allow a few hours to explore downtown Vancouver, thanks to all of your recommendations. One question remains: Will Princess allow us to drop off small carry-on luggage? And even if they do, will backpacks/duffle bags be at risk of getting lost? In all the YouTube videos, I've only seen large checked-in suitcases left outside the cabin doors unattended. We plan to maximize the carry-on bag limit with airlines to save on check bag fees, so we'll have 2-3 smaller bags with some weight, and certainly wouldn't want to carry those around while touring the city.

What you've said makes a lot of sense to me, Martincath. I still have a few questions if you wouldn't mind: 1. Many YouTube videos I've watched suggest early embarkation, not just for a 'free' lunch on embarkation day, but also to allow buffer time in case of various scenarios: discovering issues with one's cabin and needing to change to a different one or have it fixed, making dining reservations before prime slots fill up, reserving shore excursions or modifying bookings without enduring long lines after everyone else boards. Another significant concern is the possibility of cruise lines overselling, potentially resulting in some cruisers being sent home, with the latest arrivals being more susceptible. While I may not personally need to book excursions, I do want to minimize issues stemming from cruise line overselling or cabin problems, and I aim to secure dining reservations. Are these concerns unnecessary? 2. The departure time of our ship is 4pm. Heading back to the pier at least 2 hours before that means arriving around 2pm. That's not much later than lunch hour. Will the crowd have dissipated by then? 3. How much time is needed to drop off bags in the morning? Is dropping off luggage the same as checking in luggage, or is it merely a temporary luggage storage service, requiring us to later retrieve the bags to complete the check-in process during embarkation?

maybe i m unnecessarily paranoid about small probability events, but i somehow feel it's better to do car rental on a south bound trip than north -- in case of any car problem on this long and remote route that prevents one from getting back on time to the cruise ship, southbound means getting to Juneau by oneself which is way easier and a smaller loss than if one has to skip glacier bay and fjord (2 full cruise days which are major attractions of this cruise journey) and get to Whittier all by oneself. I wouldn't want to take that chance being overly conservative.