bunny1954

AKSusan and AKStafford,

We are looking for place dinner for r 7 adults on a Friday night in July. We will be tired from a long day (driving to and from Knik River Lodge and our helicopter ride and Dogsled adventure) and will need to be up early the next day to take the train to Anchorage. Any suggestions for a place near the Voyager Inn with good food so we can make a reservation in advance?

Okay, places that will take reservations - these would all be an easy walk from your hotel - Simon & Seafort's -http://www.simonandseaforts.com/menus/10Dinner1206.pdf and Glacier Brewhouse https://glacierbrewhouse.com/

and their sister restaurant Orso it's Italian restaurant http://orsoalaska.com/.../uploads/2015/02/DINNER-1.5.17.pdf

 

A lot of the other places we eat downtown don't take reservations or are further away from our hotel!

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

 

I can highly recommend Simon and Seafort's. We just ate there last month when we were in Anchorage. I am not much of a seafood eater, but I had promised my husband that I would try a couple of seafood dishes while we were in Alaska. They had a rockfish special that night with creole seasoning and served with dirty rice that was to die for. My husband had a halibut dish that he really enjoyed.

We just ate at Drewery's which was right across the street from where Star Princess was docked last week.

Hmmmm... You are correct. It is to help with the seam between the two mattresses. I believe both of our next two cruises have the new beds. Unlike some who always complain about hard beds on Princess I am worried that the new beds will be too soft. If the bed isn't firm enough my back can get so bad it's hard to even get up or walk. I find that "pain hurts" and it isn't my friend.

Just got off Star Princess a few days ago. Bed was not too soft. Only slightly better than the rock hard bed we had a few years ago. I don't like very firm mattresses and this one was just tolerable for me.

Do you know if on your afternoon in Denali you can switch from the history tour to the Wilderness tour.... usually they say you must spend 2 nights in Denali in order to up grade to the Wilderness tour and that the history tour is too short and does not really go into the park However, they created GB5 and for 2018 JB5 with just one night in Denali so I am assuming one could squeeze the longer tour in.

Our cruise tour thru Princess has us leaving Fairbanks and stopping for one night in each of the Princess Denali lodges and we had the option of upgrading from the history tour to the wilderness tour. And from my understanding the history tour goes to mile marker 30 in the park now.

It would seem that the recession would have more to do with losing homes rather than a 16 day federal shutdown.

2013 was not a 16 day shutdown that we eventually got paid back for. It was forced furlough days due to the sequester that was enacted as part of the federal budget that we completely lost pay for. Between my DH and I, we lost pay that was the equivalent of 4 mortgage payments. That's a significant sum for a family to lose. Since it was just the two of us, we were luckier than most and managed to tighten our belts and make it thru. Other families were not so lucky.

After the last government shutdown all laid off employees got reimbursed for lost pay fortunately. If we have another shutdown, federal employees laid off will get another paid vacation.

As retired federal employees, I can promise you that the last thing that my DH and I wanted was a "paid vacation" courtesy of a shutdown. Since we both worked for Uncle Sam, that meant no money coming in to our household. It is a very stressful situation at best since there is never any way of knowing how long a shutdown will last and when you can expect the back pay or even if Congress will decide to approve the back pay. Or in our case, since we worked for DOD, we worked for no pay with the expectation that we would eventually get paid. Not everyone who works for the government in that situation goes home and gets a free paid vacation. In 2013, when the government enacted sequester, we were forced to take unpaid furlough days. Even if you had leave on the books, you could not use it and get paid for the days. Our family lost a significant amount of income that year.

Alaska State Troopers, Port Protection, Buying Alaska, Living Alaska, Life Below Zero......all great shows for getting a feel for Alaska. And pretty neat for memories after your trip.

When I was working that was our yearly vacation. Each and every time I got "must be nice to be able to afford a cruise". On year when my friend said that to me I looked at her and said, "well, I didn't go to Big Bear for 2 days with 2 rooms and 4 people six times last year. I don't eat out two or three times a week like you do" etc. I told her with the money that she wastes just eating out she and her DH could be going on those cruises with us. We just choose to spend our money differently. She and our group of friends never made that comment to me again.

 

I don't feel I need to justify my cruising. In fact for quite a few years many of our friends and family cruised together. I think we did around 7 or 8 group cruises.

I totally agree with the eating out part. When DH and I were working, we did a lot of ordering delivery food and eating out. We still managed vacations, though. When we retired last year, I started shopping and cooking again. We did a 10 day Alaska cruise last year, a week at Disney in January, going on a 12 day cruisetour next month and back to Disney for a week in the fall......all cash paid for. Also planning a 10 day Europe cruise next year. We do still eat out about 6 times a month.....mostly after church on Sunday. We did some other weekend travel during the past year. By paying off most of our debt before we retired and watching our daily expenditures, we have been able to do more than I thought we would be able to do in retirement.

It always amazes me how little some people can pack and get by with on trips. My husband and I each had a carryon, we also had a checked bag and I had a backpack on the plane in place of a purse that I keep meds and paperwork in. And out of that, I think I brought back very few items that were not worn. As others have said, layers are key. Also a waterproof jacket. Binoculars if you have them. Small flashlight in case power goes out on the ship for any reason. For an early or late season trip, I would include some type of headgear and gloves. I have some very lightweight thinsulate gloves and used them and my knit cap several times on our September trip last year.

We did a 10 day cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line that left out of Seattle and returned to Vancouver. We visited Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, Icy Strait Point, Glacier Bay, and Victoria BC. We saw a lot of Alaska on this trip. Maybe this might be a better alternative than a land and sea tour? At the very least, if the party wants to stay together, then as you said, your mom will have to travel to each land hotel. We are doing a cruisetour next month. We have 2 nights in Fairbanks, a motor coach to one Princess Lodge in Denali for one night, another motor coach to another Princess Lodge in Denali/Talkeetna for one night, train from Talkeetna to Anchorage for one night and then motor coach from Anchorage to Whitter to board our 7 night cruise. That might be more traveling than she would want to do.

You can always spend less money by not getting an aft balcony room. I believe that you will find other balconies that do not cost as much. We did a 10 day Alaska cruise last year on NCL and have a 12 day cruisetour planned on Princess in May. We are doing an interior room on this trip and our 12 day costs far less than your 7 day. However, the price you are paying is about what you can expect for your type of accommodation on any of the Alaska cruises. We really liked our only trip on Princess and are looking forward to cruising with them again. And let me recommend the Yukon one day trip from Skagway. We did that last year on our Alaska cruise and it was one of our 2 top excursions. You will have plenty of time to explore Skagway on your own after you return. It is an easily walkable town and not a long walk back to where the ship will be docked.

Our Southbound tour GB5 Denali explorer next August stops there.

Our Southbound GB5 in May 2017 stops there. In my cruise documents. We stop on the way from Anchorage to Whittier to board the ship.

We have a first time cruiser coming with us next summer to Alaska. We have cruised 6 times to the Carribean but never alaska. Our first time cruiser is terrified of not seeing land and cruising in general. I heard that Glacier Bay is not to be missed but wasnt sure if that can be combined with an inside passage trip? Looking at the glacier bay maps it doesn't seem like you are far from land can you still see land kind of?

We did a 10 day NCL inside passage cruise last September out of Seattle and back to Vancouver that included Glacier Bay. There absolutely were times that you could not see land although some of it occurred at night. There was also a lot of fog some mornings that obscured land. We are doing a Whittier to Vancouver cruise on Princess in May that includes Glacier Bay and is also an inside passage trip. Maybe an inside cabin and staying in the interior of the ship away from windows might help when there is no land to be seen?

We did the Yukon Excursion thru Norwegian Cruise Lines. It was about a 7 hour trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Small bus of about 25 to 30 and it was not that bad getting on and off for picture stops. We made a couple of bathroom stops each way and lunch in Carcross was included. One of our favorite excursions on our cruise.

Last year on NCL Jewel the captain sat just off of the glaciers and slowly rotated the ship so people on balconies on both sides got a good view.

The pass is good for all day, but I don't know how many times you would actually want to ride up and down it. The ride is about 5 to 8 minutes. When you get to the top of the mountain there are shops and exhibits and restaurants.

Princess uses multiple lodges in Fairbanks, not just the Fairbanks Princess. It will be on your final itinerary.

Thanks. Not knowing which hotel we will be staying at is putting a crimp in some of the plans I want to make for Fairbanks. Some of the tours I am looking at only pick up from specific hotels and others want to know the name of the hotel when I book the tour. I called Princess but was told that the earliest I would probably know is 30 days out.

"Short distance" is a relative term. Do you perhaps remember about how far? I'm traveling with my mother and aunt where any distance can be a challenge. This is one of the things I need to look into ...how to get to this boat for the tour. Thanks.

The slip where the Misty Fjord boat was located was directly next to the pier our ship docked on. We walked off the ship and across the pier and then across the street to the ramp. I was just looking at a picture my husband took of it. However, there is no guarantee that your ship will pull into that same space as there will probably be several ships in port at the same time.

Does Princess use their Riverside Lodge for cruisetour lodging in Fairbanks? If not, does anyone know which hotel they use?

Thank you.

Bunny, that is great to hear! How did they do it? Did they get rolled on via a ramp, or was there a lift, or something else?

As I recall it was a ramp. It was actually a very short distance from where our cruise ship docked to get to the loading point. Not sure where you guys will be docking.

Yes we have booked it. I don't mind seeing the same scenery twice (or 3 times, counting coming back lol) when it's so gorgeous. SIL and I are also wheelchair users, this is one of the few tours that claims to be accessible. My camera and I are ready!

 

What cabin are you in? We are in an accessible aft balcony mini-suite on deck 11.

This tour is wheelchair accessible. We did it last September and watched them bringing people in wheelchairs onboard.

I can only give you half of what you are asking. We were in ISP on 9/22 and carefully selected Glacier Wind Charters for a whale watching tour. They came with a great recommendation from several CC posters. The cost as $120/person. Unfortunately the weather turned horrible with heavy rain and rocky seas, so the tour was cancelled. Theresa was great to work with and refunded our money very quickly--it was delivered before we even got home.

We were on this same sailing with Pizzalady1 and the weather WAS horrible that day. We booked the In Alaska's Wild Kitchen I think it was called thru the cruiseline. A little pricey but we enjoyed it. We cooked halibut and salmon over an alderwood fire. We also got the shuttle from the cruise port into town ($5 per person each way I think). We walked around but didn't stay long as we had a monsoon and heavy winds that day due to a huge storm front. To be honest, this cruise port needs more options.

For our first Alaska trip last year we chose NCL Jewel as it had a great 10 day trip with lots of ports and good pricing. We were very pleased with our selection and liked our first ever cruise aboard NCL. For our trip this year, we chose Princess as they had some good pricing and we were able to do a 5 day cruisetour (land trip) prior to the cruise. So read up on what Alaska has to offer and do some research on the ports and then decide what is most important to you so that you can make an educated choice on which cruise line best serves your needs and what you are looking to accomplish.

We just did Vancouver to Toronto to La Guardia to South Carolina last September. If you do Vancouver to Toronto, you will clear customs in Toronto and no.....1 hour and 19 minutes will not get it done for you. You will clear customs in Toronto and not Philly. Where we came off WestJet, it was a long hike down to the customs area and not very well marked on how to find it. You have to go back thru a security line, scan your passport and then stand in another line for customs before you go back into the airport and another long hike to find your next gate. I will never fly thru Toronto again if I can possibly help it. Can't help you with Montreal. If you are flying WestJet to Toronto, you will check in at the domestic terminal and NOT the international one in Vancouver despite the fact that your ultimate destination is the US. We found that out the hard way last year when we literally had to go from one side of the airport to the other. If by any chance you book a flight from Vancouver directly into the US, then you would fly out of the international terminal and would clear customs in Vancouver.

We did this excursion last year on NCL Jewel. We loved it and highly recommend it. Very relaxing and enjoyable. Boat was clean and comfortable. Very knowledgeable guides onboard. Restroom facilities on board and a snack bar. Provided binoculars for your use while onboard and a complimentary drink and snack.