sharon_pei

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.

Curious on the boredom comment from above: i have never cruised and will experience it first time in life this June and i was thinking when selecting cruise line: how much time I would have to get bored on a 7 day one way cruise? here is my assumption and pls correct if any part of it is wrong: on embarkation day, one would be busy getting on the ship, orienting him/herself, settling in the cabin, then ship tour. plus spending time to see the scenery as the ship leave Vancouver and eating dinner. day 2 (north bound), this is probably the only potential boring day: but i would imagine it's the time to experience what the ship can offer, go to see casino even though we dont gamble, go to art gallery or auction even though there is 0 chance we will buy anything, go to some shopping area though again no budget for shopping whatsoever, go check out the outdoor sports area and gym and pools even though we might not actually spend time in those places, go check out places like game room, library, bar areas around the ship, just to explore. I will stop there but i think i get my point out. day 3: time in port till 2pm. then eat late lunch, then just not too much time to relax before dinner again day 4 & day 5: full day in port -- wouldn't even have time to eat dinner unless one gets back early day 6 full day for glacier bay day 7 morning: prepare to disembark afternoon fjord scenery Also port time on most days starts at 6am or 7am. i don't see any opportunity for late night entertainment for those want to max out their time to explore ports. the point is: i don't see a lot of time to get bored unless I am thinking this wrong.

thank you both, wolfie11 and edinburgher, for the quick replies! I took a look at the tour option and it's cheapest offer is $75/pp. That's over budget for us unfortunately. One of posts in the link shared above include a very detailed trip report/review including how to get to the totem parks by bus. it's such a wonderfully informative post that i would like to add the link of this post just in case anyone else find it useful:

Thank for so much for the information! to spend 3.5 hours on the way for an hour in the park seems a pretty bad ROI. is there uber or taxi service that would make the trip more efficient? If not, looks like with for time we have in Ketchikan, we will have to skip totem park to make time for creek street and other parts of downtown.

Thank you both! looks like we will have to save Vancouver to next time.

1st time cruiser newbie question if anyone wouldn't mind: we will embark northbound one way cruise from Vancouver in June. In the ideal world we would like to arrive a few days earlier to explore the wonderful city of Vancouver before our cruise journey, but with limited vacation time that's not an option. So we will arrive the night before embarkation day. According to many youtube videos it's better to board earlier than later for a variety of reasons. The question is: if we board the ship and set everything up as early as possible (still don't know how early is possible and i assume it would be around lunch hour?), would we be allowed to get off the ship to explore the nearby Vancouver downtown luggage free and get back to the cruise till the end of embarkation time?

If using city bus to go totem park, how many hours should be budgeted pls? We won't have too much time in this port (scheduled for 6am-2pm, but for late risers who plan to eat proper breakfast, it's probably more likely 8:30am-2pm) and our must-dos include totem park and creek street. Optional items are rest of the city walk tour plus lumberjack show.

Avis's rental is $450+ for 1 day from what I can find. At that price point, we decide to opt for the train/bus combo. But it may still make sense for those larger groups of 4-5 people i guess.

Day 2 comments - If you wish to observe the transit through Johnstone Strait at night, I suggest staying up until about 07:00 to 08:00. As per my previous post, if it is a clear night with reasonable moonlight, the views are fairly impressive. If it is dull and overcast, I don't suggest missing sleep. I didn't know one can see and appreciate the view with moon light. Now I get it. thank you!!! If one stays really late (let's say 12-1am) instead of getting up very early, would he be able to catch some first sight of johnson strait?

Thank you for the information. I am still confused on how early one needs to get up on day 2 to be able to catch the scenery though. Trying to attach a timestamp to the locations mentioned in the post above: on day 1: Entering Georgia Strait, you have a succession of smaller islands on both side, and Vancouver Island to port and mainland to stbd. If close to the Solstice, sunset is about 21:30, with the ship being about Hornby to Courtney, depending on Seymour tides. -- so it is the right understanding that one is better off grabbing a quick bite (instead of spending hours in formal dining room) to catch the sunset, or plan to eat after 9:30pm (not even sure if cruise ship would allow that)? on day 2: Unfortunately, the narrow channel is navigated at night, with the ship being around Robson Bight/Blackfish around the first light. To not miss it, one needs to get up around 5am? (sunrise for June Victoria BC is around 5am, but i am not sure if Victoria BC is the right benchmark to check on sunrise sunset time here). or, by getting up at around 5am-ish, can one still catch the nice part of narrow channel or is it already sort of late? That's the part I am not getting: with the ship being around Robson Bight/Blackfish area, is it good or already entering the wider and hence somewhat less interesting section? I read some old posts from this forum earlier that the cons of south bound itinerary was to miss the best part of inside passage scenery, but those posts were from years ago. Possibly that information is no longer valid due to schedule changes over the years? I wish i can dig these links out but google isn't very helpful here.

Thank you for the guidance on gift cards via AARP. Looks like it has $500 value and $100 value. does the limit of 5 per month apply the $500 value one? if so, that means each month, one can purchase 5x$500=$2500 in value? I tried to log into my princess account and couldn't each link my cruise (booked via costco) to the account. mobile app seems to work for linking to the reservation, but it still doesn't allow me to apply any gift cards as a payment method. do I have to call or chat with its customer support people to apply the gc to remaining balance? I assume the crew appreciation could be paid via gift cards too.