KruisinKath

On 5/5/2024 at 10:42 AM, Crew News said:

This begins a live thread from Alaska May 5-19, 2024.  This thread provides the opportunity for those booked, or thinking of booking Alaska, to pose questions to help in their planning.  I have just completed seven days in Alaska on the Koningsdam and will be posting information that I have gathered from that experience. The impressions and observations expressed on this thread are my own.  Those with differing comments/impressions are encouraged to contribute to better inform those following. I do not usually comment on food as it is very subjective but the hardness of the cookies will be a matter of interest.  Since all of my photographs are made in RAW format and require processing, I may not be posting them.  I will be posting links to PDF files that are easily uploaded to my website.

 

To those traveling on this cruise, I invite you to post photos, impressions, and observations to help build a more complete snapshot of this Alaska cruise experience.

 

So it begins.

 

Looking forward to your posts! We will be on NA in July 2025 from Whittier to Vancouver and looking forward to all the info you share about the ship (and the ports, too, but we have some knowledge of them from 2013 cruise).  CC was very helpful then, too!

12 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 

 I did notice but you may be like me . Some people like to plan or book early . 😊

I do, but not THAT early! Plus I’d be a skeleton by then, LOL.  

6 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 Yes it is . When we met our Grandson at Fort Lauderdale we had booked 7130 next to us and had the doors opened between balconies .

 He could use our balcony unless our drapes were closed meaning we wanted privacy .

Ooh, good tip re: the drapes!  Also, you probably figured, but our trip is 2025 not 2925, Lol. Sorry for not noticing/correcting!

13 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 

 We would recommend aft wrap 7 . We spent 3 weeks in it and here's a video .

 

 

 

Is this 7132? If so, that’s mine for our July 2925 Alaska cruise, with sis on one side, aft facing, and mom on the other side, port (?) side. We’ll open the balcony dividers and meander at will!  

5 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

My wife has motion sickness. This means that when the sea is a bit rough she spends time in bed and often misses dinner.

Dramamine - the type that causes drowsiness, rather than the non-drowsy kind - works for her; thus the time out of action.

 

On another thread about a year ago some people recommended the Relief Band, and others recommended the ErmTerm.

The less expensive Sea-Bands were not very effective, but we'd like to try either the Relief Band or ErmTerm.

 

I keep ginger tablets with me and anytime I feel anything I've found them to be very successful, but that's not enough for her.

 

Any suggestions, especially from those that have similar issues and found these remedies effective, will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks to all for reading this (and other) thread(s).

Bill

I take bonine starting one to two days prior to getting on the ship. Even though it’s non-drowsy, I take it at night just before going to bed, just in case! Has worked well for me.

20 hours ago, cruzingnut said:

Ok, after a comedy of errors, mainly on my part, I managed to make an account for myself.  Thanks for the help from everyone!

 

Linda R.

Yes, success! So glad you got it created!

10 hours ago, Wehwalt said:

No one is following anyone around. That was something invented by one poster and used to label anyone who disagreed with them, even changing their post after they have been replied to. You and another poster have somewhat gleefully leapt upon what no one ever proposed to do. Check the thread. It's something invented by people who have taken a most definite position in this thread. And that position is not mine.

 

I welcome well-informed discussion based on the law as it applies to cruise ships, as we were given by a greatly respected cruiser much earlier in this thread. Instead, we are given posts by some here which don't really seem intended to inform, but to disinform, not to forward the debate but to shut it down, posts in anger, not in sense. Too bad.

I agree. I thought there were some quite good facts given as most people attempted to better understand the landscape, rather than dilute the meaning of the thread with misdirected jabs.  Overall, some excellent data to ponder that may help any one of us in future potential interactions. 

22 hours ago, dccruisin said:

Not sure where the wilderness tour usually goes but there is this warning on the NP site:  An ongoing landslide at Pretty Rocks is impacting bus service. All transit buses will travel only to Mile 43 of the 92-mile long Denali Park Road.

 

Elsewhere it says all buses including tour buses can only go to mile marker 43.  So not sure what we will see.  We are on RCL's 7A tour from the May 17th out of Vancouver.  I am trying to find out more info also on our land portion.

Linda 

There is only the one road in the park, so all three of the tour options use just that one. 

2 minutes ago, cruzingnut said:

 

I tried that and it said wrong email/password, lol.  Thing is, I can't get to the actual page where you create an account.  You know, where you put in the password you want and then have to re enter it just to be sure?  Still need to try it on a different computer....then if that doesn't work, I'll call the Mariner Society for help. 

 

Linda R.

Oh darn, sorry!  To try and redeem myself- maybe try clearing your cache/browser history?

20 hours ago, cruzingnut said:

I've had an account with HAL for years but it's under my husbands name.  I'd like to create one for myself but I can't.  I click to Create Account but when I put in my name, DOB and zip code, the sign in email and password spots are already populated by my sign in for my husband.  Does anyone have a separate account from their other family members?  I've got FCC that I'd like to check on but can't without my own account.

 

Thanks,

Linda R.

If the sign in email and password boxes are already filled in when you get to that box, it’s just auto-filling. You should be able to delete the info in each box and proceed. 

1989 I think? Carnival Fantasy.

22 minutes ago, cruisingrob21 said:

Alaska 2025 was released in early December 2023.  Seems to be kind of late - Princess released Alaska 2025 in July of 2023.  So probably summer to late fall time.

 

I will say that by and large, HAL itineraries and ships on specific runs have been the same since the restart.  Eurodam and Westerdam out of Seattle, Koningsdam and Zaandam RT vancouver, and Noordam and Niuew Amsterdam doing the 1 way voyage between Seward and Vancouver.  There are exceptions to the itineraries (with a few unique ones) as well as some ships doing a few oddball swaps, but generally that was the trend last year.

Actually, the cruises were released in June/July of 2023, as I booked then to get the cabin I wanted.  The land tours, however, were in that December timeframe.

2 hours ago, Iafarmer said:

Thank you, I too, appreciate this wonderful resource!

You’re very welcome! We used it in 2013, and may do the drive again in 2025. Of course I didn’t keep the guide then; good thing I downloaded before they shut down the site!

36 minutes ago, MissMet said:

So sorry to read this. I only happened upon this after finding his website down and trying to search for answers. Does anyone have a copy of his driving directions they can send me? We go in July. I wish I had printed this when I first found his website! 

Forgot to include your quote as I think then you'd get a direct notification - check the thread; I attached the Murray Guide for you.

MissMet, I downloaded it before the site got taken down.  If I'm doing things right, the PDF should be attached to my reply.

Skagway_Murray Guide.pdf

In 2013, we got into Anchorage late afternoon. Next day we took train to Whittier and did the 26 Glacier tour, then back to Anchorage. Last day we took train to Seward (some of the most beautiful scenery we’ve ever seen-highly recommend!), then did a six hour Kenai Fjords tour, then got on the ship right in Seward.  Ship didn’t leave until 8 pm, so plenty of time!

Bump

1 hour ago, tj_shopper said:

I'm leaning towards Harv n Marv's as they have boats a little bit bigger to accommodate our group.  Also, I am just a little bit afraid of being in a small boat.  Do they get close enough to possibly be in the way if a whale breaches?  Might be a stupid question, but I don't swim and this would be quite terrifying.

All boats have to stay a certain distance from the whales. We had a few that surfaced right by the boat, then we maneuvered to be that required distance. I never felt in danger of being “upended.”

2 hours ago, tj_shopper said:

@AKStafford @KruisinKath - Thank you both for your replies.  That's what I was afraid of.  I was hoping that I could skip the whale watch and save some money for a different tour.  Now, to decide which one to do.  I heard that Icy Straight Point and Juneau are both great places to see whales.

You can’t go wrong with either. We used Glacier Wind in Icy Strait Point.  I forget who I used in Juneau.  I’m going with Jayleens in 2025, but there’s also Harv n Marv’s.  All vendors mentioned have smaller vessels (6 or 12 pp). The tours thru the cruises are usually larger (~50+).

On 12/28/2023 at 12:24 PM, AKStafford said:

Below was  taken from a recent Facebook post in a group for advice for Alaska travel. I thought it was worth placing here as well:

"Hola Travelers,

As someone *very* active in the Alaska business & tourism field (and local to Juneau/Skagway since 2009), many of you chose to NOT book thru a travel agent and do not get the information I'm about to post; and the cruise lines and online booking sites don't know (or don't WANT you to know) this timeline of how business operates in Alaska.

This includes TOURS, shops, TRANSPORTATION (including the TRAIN), etc).

Our season has *always* been May 15 - September 15th. This is etched in STONE. Almost everything is open during this time period.

Here's how they staff:

April - workers start showing up, training commences.

April 15 - maybe 25% of all tours/shops/excursions are open

May 1 - 60%ish of businesses are open

May 15 - 80% of businessses are open. Alaska Railroad opens.

May 23/24thish: 100% of businesses are open

September 4/5ish: We lose 25% of our staff and businesses

September 15: About 50% of tours/businesses closed (including the Alaska Railroad)

October 1st: We are probably at 20-25% of businesses and tours open

Last Cruise: 5-10% of businesses are open (except for locals).

Keep this in mind when you book your cruise if you are NOT going to book thru an Alaska-based agency or someone who has been up here a lot.

In Skagway, it was rough on October 1st when we had only *** 2 *** full service restaurants open in town. JUST TWO. Yet we had 5,000 passenger ships still coming in. Most of our tours had already closed, except for a few ran by Skagway Tours, Southeast, and the railroad. I think Alaska X had a few still going. But it was NOT pretty for how the tourists were treating us (I even closed my shop due to how rude some of them were, and went on my own cruise in Florida). We had ships skipping ports due to horrible weather starting in late September, and every day I was getting an email from Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, or Sitka advising of another ship skipping a port that day or heavily delayed.

There's a reason the cruise lines drop the prices SSSOOO low in our off-season - please keep this in mind when booking. If you are perfectly fine in NCL's Thermal Spa or doing onboard activities, then fantastic. You'll have a wonderful time."

I wish this could be a pinned post at the top of the first page!  I’ve been researching for my second Alaska trip and was surprised to see that the cruise lines have expanded the sailings earlier/later. Wasn’t surprised at the negative reviews I started seeing about tours/venues being shut down; though even just a few days of reading this and other forums would steer people away from these outside-shoulder seasons, but sadly many people don’t want to bother doing a little homework.

We did this trip on Radiance in 2013. We did the 26 glacier tour in Whittier the day before, then the awesome train to Seward (gorgeous scenery) and 6 hr Kenai Fjords tour, specifically to supplement our glacier viewing because Royal Caribbean didn’t have permit to go into Glacier Bay.  We DID see Orcas in the bay before heading out to the glaciers in Seward, but that was early June. I think still possible, but not as likely to see them in later months.

We also did whale watches in both Icy Strait Point and Juneau because I wanted to double the whale opportunities!  We didn’t get crazy action like bubble-net feeding, but had gorgeous weather and some good sightings and “fin” action!

Sorry so long, but hope it was helpful!

On 11/29/2023 at 2:17 AM, crystalspin said:

I was just reading a dis-jointed thread and someone asked about Oosterdam showers that are not within tubs. I clicked out to check the deckplans and now I CANNOT find the thread. Help!??

 

Go to your web browser history…

On 11/4/2023 at 12:41 PM, GTJ said:

I think that you hit upon most all of the relevant points for a critical review of the balcony debate for Alaska itineraries. There seems to be among many people the thought that their only access to the surrounding landscape is from the privacy and seclusion of their individual stateroom. Yet there is so much public space throughout the vessel that puts to shame the tiny balcony from which some observe. That is, such a constrained perception is purposefully wearing horse blinders, with a narrow field of vision and inability to see the broader landscape or seascape.

 

When I traveled to Alaska I was on deck, not in a stateroom that I viewed largely as a place reserved for sleeping. I went back-and-forth, between port and starboard, as the changing scenery demands. It was quite similar to traveling the Panama Canal--especially when going through the locks and watching the ground activity on both sides--as well as when traveling by railroad either in an observation car or standing in the vestibule switching from one set of dutch doors to the other.

 

I suppose if one is frail or disabled, unable to stand on deck or move from one side of the vessel to the other, that sitting on a stateroom's balcony is best. But otherwise, the public spaces are better than any individual balcony. Those with inside staterooms who are out on deck get so much value than those with balcony staterooms and confined therein.

What you fail to recognize is that one can do both.  We enjoyed both the public spaces AND our aft balcony on our first cruise to Alaska.  Different people have different preferences; doesn’t make those choices any less intelligent than others.

I thought there was a bus that went between the two towns but perhaps what I read was old-or could be what AKStafford provided-will ck my bookmarks.  I have seen many recommendations for PJ’s Taxi that you could try (I see just now also provided by AKStafford!).

10 minutes ago, KarriLena said:

Thank you very much for the information! We will be staying in Anchorage for a few days prior, but I didn't know there was a charter train through Royal Caribbean. There isn't an option to book it in the cruise planner, so I guess I will be making a call to them tomorrow as well.

 

Thanks again!

I’d recommend doing that early train, then a 6 hour Kenai Fjords tour. You get back in plenty of time to board the ship, which I’m assuming departs at 8 (so all aboard probably by 630).

We did this in 2013 via Kenai Fjords Tours in early June.  Highly recommend!