3rdGenCunarder

That's correct. The only train option this year was up and back on the same train. The White Pass Railway website was very clear about it early on, after the decision was made (by Canada, not the railroad). But cruise lines lagged behind, still selling other options even though they wouldn't be running. There were a lot of confused and unhappy posts on the Alaska board about it. The rock slides--I think it's now up to 3 or 4--are going to be an ongoing issue. That slope is very steep and it will be difficult to stabilize it. With both berths on that dock unavailable, Skagway has only two berths. They were allowing a ship to dock at the end of the railway dock and tender passengers over to the ferry dock, but I don't know if that's still an option after the newer rockslides.

I recommend a sheltered balcony, midships. Low and middle gives you the best ride if it gets rough, and you never know with the north Atlantic how it will be. I second the advice to get a cabin on the south-facing side. It gives more light and it can be warm, even on a cool/cold day. I would not go for an obstructed balcony. Those lifeboats are VERY ORANGE and on a sunny day, they can give the room an orange glow. . Just be aware of what you're getting. The sheltered balcony is actually in the hull of the ship and is not glass-fronted. The minus is that you can't see the ocean when you're sitting. But if you stand and look out, you get a great view of the sea. Don't worry about being on deck 6 under the open promenade deck. I've never had noise issues being under there, or under the buffet.

If the deck plans are anything to go by, there will be no chairs on the "promenade deck." The plans look exactly like K'dam, with narrow stretches and lots of turns. The only place to sit on K'dam's "promenade deck" (and they know better than to try and call it that) is on the benches that hold extra life jackets. I hope this pic comes through. This is one of the narrow sections of K'dam's version of the "promenade decck."

I have several comments. First, every time Cunard puts out information, I see more similarities to HAL's Koningsdam. I had to laugh about the "specially designed" sliding glass roof. That is not a new concept. QE2 had one, although it was rarely opened because it tended to get stuck. But every HAL ship has one, and they do use them, especially in warm climates. I can also tell you that they can be closed quickly, as we discovered in a sudden rainstorm in St Lucia. The enclosed pool is a large area, and the double height makes it a pleasant space. Yes, there's a huge screen. But that isn't necessarily awful. It depends on how it's used. Admittedly, my only Princess cruise was more than 10 years ago, but I hated that they had movies and LOUD soundtracks during the day. OTOH, on the K'dam, the screen showed abstract shape-shifting designs during the day, and no or minimal sound. It was easy to ignore. I think they showed a nature video for an hour in the afternoon. My favorite thing on K'dam (and it's a short list) was the evening movie by the pool, with fresh popcorn. I found that very relaxing (and better than their awful shows in their too-small "world stage"). The rendering of QA's aft pool screams "chair hog!" It shows about two dozen loungers. Those and the ones by the covered pool will be claimed early. So much of the deck space is uncovered and away from a pool that poolside seats will be at a premium. I don't care about access to a pool, but I very much want shade.

What about boarding in Southampton for a TA? Currently, Cunard is saying I need an observed covid test to board in NYC before a Canada cruise. What about the people on the TA before the Canada segment?

That depends on which dock you're at. On both of my QE Alaska cruises we were at the Broadway Dock at the end of the main street, not at the "railway dock," part of which is closed because of rock slides. I would book through the cruise line because if there are changes to the itinerary, you'll get a refund easily.

No one thing was so bad that it was worth the trouble. It was the cumulative effect. I was very happy on my cruise as long as I stayed away from the front desk and tour office.

I did the online test using Rapid Test and Trace. Not too expensive, and very easy using hotel wifi with my phone.

I was on Queen Elizabeth in June and we shared Glacier Bay with Zuidy, my favorite HAL ship. She looked beautiful!

She is probably considered the "third person" on the booking and perks and deals often apply to the first two people only.

I have fried a key card with a magnetic catch on a purse and with with my cellphone, even when the phone was turned off. I'll try using a sleeve for my card next time. I didn't have as many problems as OP had on QE, but I did think service at the front desk was poor. It started out when there was an issue with a smell in my cabin. In all my past cruises, I have never asked to be moved, but since I knew they weren't full (this past June), I went down to ask. They weren't sure if anything was available, but they would check. A woman called to say there was another PG on the same deck, and would I like to see it? She came up to my cabin and we walked to the one she was offering. She used her passcard to open the door. The first thing I noticed was that the bed looked smaller than the one in my PG cabin. The second was that somebody's tote bag and other stuff were on the sofa. This was NOT an unoccupied room. It was also not a PG cabin. Do they not have a deck plan????? Fortunately, the smell went away and I stayed where I was. I got strange and stupid answers at the front desk when I had other questions. For example, ArriveCAN was all confused because "they didn't think Canada was taking it seriously." I heard one of the people at the tour desk outright LIE to passengers asking about tours. "There's nothing to do in these towns. Towns in Alaska are small. There's a Diamonds International and that's about it." I asked this same guy about airport transfers and he didn't know but took my info and would get back to me. he never followed through. Tours were cancelled on very short notice. Tendering in Juneau was a mess. One hour wait if you weren't on a tour, and this was with a ship half full! I would shrug off any one or two of these issues, but it was an ongoing parade of incompetence. Like OP, I chatted with other people who had complaints. There were a lot of first-timers on my cruise saying "never again with Cunard." On the plus side, nobody I spoke to had a complaint about food, cabin steward, or waitstaff. So it wasn't all bad. But what was wrong could have been better if people just THOUGHT about what they were doing. To the OP, watch your email for a post-cruise survey. The one I had was quite long and in addition to the typical 1 to 10 rating questions, there were places to give reasons for your ratings.

Here's another website problem. I booked a cruise on Queen Anne the first day it was possible (the World Club day). I went into my account to look at the itinerary. I noticed that instead of the cabin number I chose, it says "Your cabin will be allocated closer to sailing" or something like this. My first response to this cannot be posted here. So I emailed my TA. Her first reply also cannot be posted here. Her later reply said that the part of the site she can access shows my correct cabin number. I suspect their idiot IT people just put in placeholder copy on all QA reservations because things were moving so quickly. But they need to go back and update the records.

This was my first response to the change. I don't like it. Testing within 2 days of embarkation isn't perfect, but I think it's better than nothing. Waiting for my observed test to be over last month was a VERY long and tense 10 minutes, even though I had no symptoms and had been careful. Knowing that everyone boarding had been vaccinated and tested negative was comforting. I know that some of the negative tests were people who were "presymptomatic" and not yet testing positive, but it was fewer infected people than if the cruise line just takes people's word as true.

Check out Maine Foodie Tours, now a part of Maine Day Adventures. I've done both Portland and Bar Harbor and both were good. Good combination of local history (Portland stories were so funny!) and good food.

I bought the full-cruise spa pass on QE last month. I had to choose a 2-hour time, but it didn't have to be the same time every day. On embarkation day, I chose for the next day. It occurred to me that I would likely to forget to make the time bookings, so I looked at the itinerary and my plans, and the next day made my reservations for the rest of the cruise, varying the times to suit my plans. The first day, there were 6-8 other people in the spa pool, which surprised me. All other days, there only a few people there.

CTJ, I agree about flying, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I will fly if it's the most convenient option. My problem was so much luggage. I could have shipped the garment bag with the "posh frocks," since I didn't need them for the conference I attended before the cruise. I've shipped luggage in the past, no problem. But with all the understaffing and airport issues, I was afraid to risk it. Thanks for the info about Niagara Falls. I'm thinking about Chicago to Toronto next year. I think I'll take Amtrak to Chicago, but fly home instead of the very early and very long day on the Maple Leaf. Amtrak should be more forthcoming in its description of the border crossing procedures. For anyone going to Alaska from Seattle or Portland, I hope they get the Cascades running sooner than announced.

Amtrak's official porters. Small stations don't have them. They put your luggage on a cart and take you to the train. I didn't know if the red caps at Seattle would take passengers to the bus.

I was sailing with Cunard, so lots of luggage to schlepp. More than the change to a bus was the whole drag your stuff to/through/from customs & immigration. And there's the bus limitation on carry-on. I am very possessive of my camera and laptop, and didn't want them under the bus in my rollaboard airplane carryon. Yes, the station is beautiful. But nobody at Cantrail could tell me where the bus boards. The woman I spoke to said something about Chinatown! I think she was trying to give me the general location, but I wanted specifics. All in all, it sounded like misery. The Air Canada flight, while more expensive, was easy, fast, and comfortable.