cruisequeen4ever

My response is based on living in Alaska and doing many north and southbound Alaska cruises. Whittier is a very tiny town, and you can see the 26 Glaciers boat as you drive up to the cruise terminal. On one of our cruises, we arrived very early for check-in and sat in the cruise terminal waiting. We saw the people disembarking who were back-to-back cruisers doing the 26 Glaciers cruise. The company came and gathered them in the cruise terminal to leave. Check-in for the cruise opens at 12:15 when the train arrives. There is a very long line immediately unless you are one of the first people off the train because the train holds hundreds of people, and they are all going to check in for the cruise, minus a few people who rode the train to do something else in Whittier. I agree with the person who recommended you check in for the cruise first and then go on the excursion (if you choose to do the excursion). As you said, though, there really wouldn’t be time for you to do so before the tour would leave. I definitely would not risk checking in after the excursion arrives back into Whittier as , someone else noted that check-in had ceased at that time, and I would agree that it probably would be done at that time. The last batch of passengers are those on the train that comes from Denali, and those passengers check in for the cruise while on the train. That means no one else is checking in when they arrive at the terminal. They just go straight through security and onto the ship. As great as the 26 Glaciers cruise is, I think it would be too risky for you to do as an embarking passenger. Now, if you really wanna do that excursion, you could take the train to Whittier the day before the cruise, do the 26th Glaciers cruise, and spend the night at the inn in Whittier.

On all of ours, they’ve had the classic musical entertainment (string quartet, party band, soloist, production shows) and a few more regional offerings sprinkled in, like an Irish band or singer, Irish instrument lessons, etc. There are movies shown, game shows, bingo, Deal or No Deal, competitions, and yes, you will have comedians. 😀

That’s sad, but I’m glad you have cruise lines you do like. That’s the beauty of variety. Happy sailing!

We sailed on the Enchanted last summer and did notice the decline in food flavor and quality.

I agree; the aft view is spectacular on an AK cruise. We love sitting on the aft deck as the ship sailing out of Glacier Bay. It extends the scenic viewing.

They had fantastic jazz music there every night. We loved going. They offer some unique drinks, too.

Loved hearing about your experiences! We did a similar cruise last summer. Out of Genoa, we did a boat excursion that took us to Camgli, Santa Margherita, and Portofino. After reading about your long bus ride, it further cemented how much better the boat transport was; it was so cooling and relaxing to be out at sea between each port and a great way to enter each port. That is such a shame you only had a comfort stop basically in Santa Margherita. We too used CabRoma; our driver went above and beyond for us. Speaking of above and beyond, holy cow does your Genoa tour guide deserve “guide of the year”! Thank you for taking us along! I miss Europe pretty much about 2 weeks after we return each time. lol

hooray!

My friend and I had a similar but not as bad experience with our toilet on Solstice. The room steward acted like we had done something wrong with the toilet when it wouldn’t stop running. We had done nothing. We were fortunate he was able to stop it in time before it over flowed at least. They need to better train their crew not to attack their guests for ship issues out of pax control.

That’s the exact same thing I said when I got it! To go from a free cruise in a balcony last year to $50 off this year is a huge drop!

We have been on a Princess excursion to Nevis that was wonderful. we took a big boat to the island. They played lots of music on the boat to make it fun. Then we had an island tour, followed by beach time on the main beach. We would go back.

Yeah, I know. I’d much rather pay and never need it than wish I had it. I have actually had a claim, though, and was so thankful I had the insurance.

It’s wonderful! There’s a thalassotherapy pool that has a water feature raining down in the middle, jets for your back, jets for your body, and then a big metal rung lounging platform with jets. There are heated stone loungers and water bed style loungers. The 3 rooms include various steam rooms and styles. Lastly, there’s a set of showers with a variety of water styles.

Oh I never travel without travel insurance. If I cancel, it’ll be because I need to cancel the whole trip.

I live in Anchorage and have done many cruises to/from Whittier. It’s a 1.25 hr drive and includes a transit through a long tunnel that opens for a window every hour. Timing can change, but in my experience, self-disembarkation usually begins around 7:00 or 7:30 AM. If everything went perfectly, they miiiiight make it. Would I recommend it? Absolutely not! Disembarkation could be running behind schedule. That highway is considered to be one of the most dangerous in the country. There are lots of accidents that can delay traffic for hours. Plus, we call summer “road construction season”, which can also result in lengthy delays. It’s not worth the risk. Saturdays are also extremely busy days at the Anchorage airport in the summer because of tourism. Check-in and security lines can be very long.

Thank you both! That’s such a relief!!

Is Princess Vacation Protection Refundable if it’s BEFORE final payment?

It’s really good to know Carnival handles scooters well. I’m glad your mom had fun!

You booked the right kind of stateroom, and dining room staff will park your scooter for you after you sit down and bring it back to you after dinner. Hiring a private driver works really well when touring with a scooter; we often do that. The Royal class ships are more often able to accommodate scooters on tenders due to the platform setup they have. Be sure to fill out the Access form or ask your Travel Agent to do it for you, so Princess is fully aware of your situation. If there are any excursions you want to do but aren’t sure if the transport will accommodate your scooter, once onboard, go to the Shore Excursion Desk, and they can usually either tell you if the transport has storage for a broken down scooter or they can call the company to find out. Princess handles accessibility well. 😀

Crown Grill is my absolute favorite. I love the steaks with specialty salts and Chilean Sea Bass. I miss their old lemon dessert, but their new desserts are still pretty good. At Sabatini’s, we are usually more impressed by the apps than the mains. I love the Burrata and Calamari.

For me, Princess is a cut above Celebrity in food and entertainment and pretty equal to Celebrity in ships and crew.

Mobility scooters are fantastic. You store it and charge it in your stateroom, though, so it doesn’t affect others.

It has sadly not been offered on my last 2 cruises.

O’Malleys is such a hit concept; they really should put it on every ship.

You’ve clearly done good research because yes, Princess is the best for Alaska, and yes, the one-way cruise is the best! You are correct that for a northbound cruise, the starboard side would give you the land view. An aft view would be the very best, especially when sailing out of Glacier Bay. I have sat on the aft deck on several Alaska cruises while sailing out of Glacier Bay, and it is absolutely magnificent. It allows for much longer viewing opportunities, and you don’t miss out on one side because you get to see both sides. Early June is a good time to go. I live in Alaska, and our weather is generally pretty good at that time of year, though you do need to plan for everything from sunny and warm to windy and rainy and cold. Layers are key. Yes, Princess offers EZ-Air, and it’s fantastic. Always choose the “Flexible” option. You can lock in a rate that you like and not have to pay for it until final payment. That means that if a better rate comes along, or if you change your mind and want to book directly through the airline, you can always cancel the airfare prior to final payment. Technically, you can cancel it up to 45 days before departure, but I just always told myself final payment date is the final time to be safe. The other wonderful thing about this airfare is that if you are going to be late for the cruise or miss the cruise, Princess can reroute you at their cost. The same goes for the end of the cruise. If there were to be a delay, they would change everything for you. Happy planning!