alaskaboy2

I saw it last night and grabbed it while I could!  It's out one big splurge excursion for this trip.

3 hours ago, MississippiMom said:

This is an incredible thread.  I have learned SO much.  Thank you to all who have taken the time to share their experiences.  You have no idea how much this Southerner appreciates all of the tips, as we attempt to plan our first time to cruise in Alaska (either in 2025 or 2026).

I agree - this is why this place exists.  Such great info and help.  Like I said in the beginning, I've done Seattle to Seattle three times so it's so easy I can do it in my sleep.  Going from Anchorage to Vancouver (or reverse) is an entirely different animal and adds a lot of complexity to the trip that Seattle doesn't require.  I have learned SO much from all of you.  Thank you.

2 minutes ago, roupa said:

Rental car warning/advise….

Be sure to check availability of a Seward DROP OFF for a rental car if you decide on a rental from Anchorage.  I could be wrong, but to my knowledge, only HERTZ has a drop off in Seward.

Yes, pricey and limited car availability so book/reserve well ahead of time.  I also reconfirm regularly.

Yeah, it was something I checked and didn't see a major company with that option.  Rented for airport to airport and will Uber back to the hotel the night before.  Less hassle on the Day Of. 

2 minutes ago, Jeeden said:

Brought our luggage to the train station with the cruise tags on it. There is a check in for the luggage (under a white outdoor tent) where they put it on the truck. A lot of people were filling out tags there, not sure why they didn't bring printed ones. We never saw the luggage again until the cruise when it was delivered to our stateroom. 

 

You then check in inside the train station itself, just tell them your name and tickets, they give you a voucher, some maps, etc. There is a bottle fill in the station for water and a very small coffee shop that is impressive at how fast they are able to serve everyone. It gets VERY crowded when some of the larger groups on buses arrive, but once we checked in we went outside to eat our breakfast and then they started calling groups for each car to come and board. Very casual boarding with time to stop outside the train and take photos etc. I have a million photos from it. It was just too good.

Excellent.  Thank you for the info.  I've been leaning toward the train vs. bus.  Being able to move around, take some photos, etc. is too much to pass up.  

Is the white tent an RC operation?  And yeah, why people don't have their tags printed out and already on the luggage is strange.

1 minute ago, Jeeden said:

We did the train last month with a large group of friends and it was a highlight of the trip. We booked the gold start class on the coastal classic directly with Alaska Railroad. We booked it EARLY (like as soon as it opened in October for our July cruise) and were glad we did because we heard it sold out mid winter. It was EPIC, perfect for kids and adults alike. We had the second level glass top car that we stayed in the whole time (no limit like the regular class). It included a nice breakfast downstairs, 2 drinks at a bar per person and complimentary non-alcoholic drinks. All of the adults wound up splitting the vouchers for the kids drinks. It also has an outdoor area in the back of the train under cover so you can take photos and see things without looking through the glass. I spent almost my whole time out there. It was great for the kids to be outside or inside as they liked. It was really perfect and I would not do the trip any other way.

 

You book directly on the Alaska Railroad site once this season is over and then you just take an uber to the train station downtown the morning of the train. It is a very early morning, but we just arrived the night before so were still feeling east coast time which made it easier. 

 

Thanks for the info.

How do they handle luggage?

8 minutes ago, AKJonesy said:

Is that the thrifty Minnesotan in you?  We are transplants born and raised in St. Paul and moved to AK 20 years ago. 

Ha, yeah, I suppose.  LOL   More like the anal retentive in me.  🙂  When I buy cars I research them to death and end up knowing more about them than the sales guy.  Works to my advantage.  

2 minutes ago, AKJonesy said:

Keep your eye on rental car prices and you might ask about that in a separate thread or read some of the cruise reviews or topics that include rental cars.  Prices for rental cars are INSANE here and if you see a good price, you really do have to grab it.  Will things get better in a year; I personally doubt it.  Just an FYI to you.  Another option depending on how many days pre or post cruise, you could rent an RV also and then you kill two birds with one stone; rental and accommodations.  Accommodations are also insane here; at least at the hotels, and dumb down your expectations.  A place that we normally rent in winter for $150 goes for $375 in summer.  Just sayin.  

That is a true statement.  I spend some time on that yesterday and found (and this was weird) that AARP's deal was by far the best out there.  It was like $250 less than anywhere else (and for the record, I've been planning my trips for decades and work online so I know how to dig into this stuff).  It's still outrageous but it was such a "good deal" I grabbed it.

2 minutes ago, irishgal432 said:

If you are renting a car,you can drive from Anhorage to Seward as well.  When we went there was not a drop off fee.

Now THAT'S interesting.  🙂  That just became a thing.  Thanks.

12 minutes ago, ngrund said:

So far, except for a couple of brewpubs we found, no set plans for Anchorage

 

We will probably take the bus tour around town on Tues after dropping off the bags at the Marriott,which is where RCL is putting us as part of the land tour.

 

For the other nights, as of now we are staying at the Home 2 Suites

 

https://goo.gl/maps/Hwpb8KZxd8RVjhgY7

 

 

I'm likely going to rent a car and do some exploring.   Pretty much - 319 days away - can't wait.  LOL

The same - June 21.  We land on that Tuesday to explore Anchorage and surrounding areas.

Where did you stay in Anchorage?  Do you recommend it?

So RCC had some official presence at the train depot?  Since I don't use a travel agent I'd do this myself.  If there is an official presence by RCC that would make life easier.

Yes, of course.  It was just easier to say Anchorage.  🙂  I'd like to get up to Denali as part of this.

Our other Alaska cruises have been Seattle to Seattle so going from Seward to Vancouver is a whole new experience for us next June.

I could use some help on these questions:

1) I know Royal does check-in's, luggage collection at the downtown Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center.  Are there recommended hotels to stay at for a few days that have shuttle service for cruisers that take you to this place?

2) I know Royal has a bus transfer one can buy from that convention center to Seward.  Do they have a similar arrangement for the train?

I'm trying to figure out our time in Anchorage including details like this.  I'd like to come into town maybe on Monday have have that week to spend exploring around Anchorage on our own.  It's that final day I don't have a good handle on yet.

Thanks.

18 minutes ago, Cherful59 said:

@alaskaboy2It is offered on my August 2023 sailing on Radiance.  It is The Hubbard Glacier wilderness Explorer $439.00 per guest, so more than the glacier.

Huh.  It could be related to vendor availability for my week. 

15 minutes ago, wolfcathorse said:

if you're going next year it may be too early to look at excursions

Maybe,  but they do have a slew of others available.   

We were on Ovation two weeks ago and saw a small boat excursion sidle upside the ship and take people closer to Dawes glacier.  We are now booked on Radiance for next year and want to do that same thing with the Hubbard glacier.  I looked through the online excursions on RC's website but it's not listed there.  Am I missing it?  Is there another way to book that?  Do they even offer it (I know they used to but it seems the posts I saw about this were from years ago)?

Appreciate your insights.

If we're paying for internet for two devices, this would be a reason for both of us to have the app?

We're cruising in a month and can't seem to find the answer to this question:  Do both myself and my wife need the Royal Caribbean app on our phones or just me?

We just returned from a cruise on the Adventure of the Seas. Some observations:

We stayed in a mini suite. As such we were very disappointed in the lack of outlets. There were literally just two. As a family that uses a lot of electronics (two phones, two smart watches, a couple batter backups, and a laptop I need to bring along in case things blow up at the office). Last year we were on a Holland ship that had a lot more outlets.

Holy crap, elevators. Ten minute waits were common. At all hours. We've been on four cruises, never have waited as long as we did on this ship for elevators. Plus two of them were offline all week.

TV issues were annoying. Every single morning all the news channels would freeze. Not just our cabin but it seems everyone's. It never happened at night, just in the mornings when you'd want to catch up for a few minutes. Totally frozen. In addition, their TV offerings really aren't much. Last year's Holland was awesome. Not sure if this is the issue with all of Royal Caribbean or not. The comparison was night and day, 1990's vs. 2018.

I really wish cruise ships had a selection in their store of basic snacks. Sometimes you just get the hankering for a bag of pretzels or M&M's. This ship had absolutely nothing in this regard.

On the positive side....

Our room attendant - Wilson - was absolutely the best. One of the single happiest people I've ever met. He was always available and took great care of us. He also took to our 19 mo old grand daughter which was awesome.

The staff, overall, was very nice. We never came across anyone who didn't seem to enjoy what they were doing.

Not a bad ship, but they do need to figure out a few things as noted above. When we selected this cruise we had changed from Holland since we were going to be taking our adults kids, their spouses and the grand baby. We thought Holland might be too old for them. Turned out that this cruise had more older people (70+, not that there's anything wrong with that) than we had ever seen on Holland. Could be it was because of the destination (New England), not sure.

Seems like the cruise line could solve this problem by segregating the dining rooms depending upon how people want to dress. Have one for people who want to look nice and expect others to look nice as well, and enforce the dress code. Have another dining room for people who are comfortable rolling out of a hammock and strolling in for dinner, and don't care what anybody looks like.

 

 

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One side for busy bodies who think they're better than everybody else. The other side for normal people who don't think they're so important that other people's clothes affect them. I like it.

If people are that bothered by what attire their table mates are wearing they should be asked to be seated elsewhere. Plain & simple.

 

I have never seen such judgmental people than on this board. There are so many more important things to be bothered over than what other people are wearing.

Nailed it. If people are so self-absorbed that what others wear affects them then it's time for those people to learn not to look. Busy bodies need to mind their own business and get over themselves.

Actually there are several car rental places very close by at the Via (train) station attached to the Westin Hotel just a few minutes from your pier. There are others in town which arrange to pick you up.

 

Here is a link to a document with much more information: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BjAtDscML-9Ce3VWUUsOrsVhPL7KIxb7Go_9SRi82dE/edit

 

Let us know what you find out.

Excellent information - thank you!

I'm taking my family on a cruise, six people and a baby, and want to rent a van in Halifax, NS to take our own tour. Pier 22 is where we're docking. Does anyone have any advice based on personal experience where the best place is to rent a mini-van for the day? I presume car rental agencies aren't exactly close by, or are several blocks away. Just looking to see if anyone else has done this and how the experience was.

Thanks.

My bride and I are taking our adults kids and their spouses (and then-18 month old grand baby) on our first family cruise on Royal Caribbean. We're stopping at Portland and Bar Harbor, ME, Halifax and St. John.

My knees are not great so climbing and walking long distances aren't optimal.

Given the knees and the baby, looking for your advice on the "must see's" for those locations. I've been thinking about renting a van in Halifax and just doing our own tour (good idea or not?).

Appreciate your advice.

Thanks.