LEtue

Me too, in particular, southbound. If anyone has any, they would be greatly appreciated :)

Yes, me too! I hope someone posts them :)

The Alaska Railroad web site seems to indicate that the Glacier Discovery route to Whittier does not have dome cars. It's not clear whether there is an open platform.

Here is a link to the details of the Adventure Class service and it is available on the Glacier Discovery train. It is a bit confusing because it is actually a vista dome located above the normal seating.

http://www.alaskarailroad.com/travel/Onboard/AdventureClass/tabid/716/Default.aspx

Wow, that is the ugliest aft I have even seen :(

I sure did enjoy those rear viewing decks before the change!

Yes, I guess we will have to sit where assigned.

However, I plan to spend time on the open platform and up in the dome area too :)

Thanks everyone!

I wasn't sure if a reservation was just that - a reserved seat until check in.

I'm sure I will be up moving around too but when I do return to my seat it would be nice to know the person next to me ;)

All I can tell you is that when we checked in last year our seats were already assigned. I suspect that they are assigned ahead of time and it might be difficult to move them around.

 

Why not just call and ask? Maybe you need to buy them by phone so that they can flag them in the system.

Yes, I can call but it is still early in Alaska and I was just wondering if someone already knew the answer :)

I have been searching through the FAQs on the AKRR site and can't find out when seat assignments are done for Adventure Class between ANC and Whittier.

Is this done at check in? Or pre-assigned when you purchase? Just want to know if my friend and I can purchase separately on line and get seats together later at check in......

If anyone can post a copy of the daily Patter for Juneau I would really appreciate it! We are on the SB 8/29 Star sailing and I'm trying to find out when Libby Riddles comes aboard - hopefully in the afternoon. The Crown Princess is in port with us so I'm sure she is splitting her time.....

Thanks in advance!

I as previously booked on that RT itinerary from Vancouver....until I found a deal on the Star for this year.

Often May has the best weather of the season so I think you should go for it :D

So sorry you missed Hubbard Glacier and I hope you get to return someday :(

The roughest seas I ever experienced was on Oosterdam in May 2007 between Hubbard Glacier and Sitka. The only time I have ever been seasick and it was no fun!

Libby Riddles comes onboard every Princess ship that is in Juneau. It is usually at the end of the day as she has to leave before the ship disembarks. Before she gets on the ship, she has been outside of the ship with her dogs sometimes.

 

Some CDs do a big write up about her and others mention it in a small space in the Princess Patter.

 

I have seen her several times and her presentation is great. It appeals those young and old - very universal. She also does book signings before and after (or at least one of them depending on time).

 

They often re-run her talk on TV the following day or two.

 

Her talk often interferes with ship excursions so not everyone gets to see her. IF you have a choice of morning or afternoon excursion, I would suggest morning and trying to make it back on the ship to see her. She is an impressive person and speaker.

Thank you!

Glacier Bay is true "must" for Alaska.

The one way voyages on Princess should guarantee that you get this experience.

I have sailed on RCCi too many times-won't ever go back for a lot of reasons.

Libby Riddles, the first woman Iditarod champion has an exclusive contract to do an onboard lecture in Juneau with Princess and she also brings several of her dogs with her.

I just cannot stomach the noisy dining rooms on RCCi(music is WAY too loud for dinner) and the constant dancing and gyrating spectacle on RCCI ships in the MDR for dinner.

I don't think that RCCI goes to Glacier Bay at all.

No, I am not a fan of RCCI. I have moved on.

Do you have details about the on board lecture? Our port stop is rather short on the Star SB cruise and wonder if it will be available?

Lois, I am so glad you a fabulous time :D

I always watch the ship and port cams during the Alaska cruise season and I saw the Solstice docked in Ketchikan. I thought of you and wondered what you had planned that day.....

I doubt you will wait 6 years to go back - will you?

Take care!

I really want to do the British Isles next year and Princess has the best itineraries. So, it is not good news that some are cancelling this year because of pricing. It is hard to book close to sailing with airfare from the US but I guess I will remain positive :)

I just moved my booking on the Star to Alaska from May 2016 to August 2015 for a nice low price though!

I totally agree that if you think this may be your only trip - do both! A southbound cruise on Princess gets you there :)

If you can't make that work then my preference would be Glacier Bay over Hubbard Glacier because of the opportunities to spot marine life in the area :D

I haven't tried specialty dining either and find the included food options just fine :D

 

I don't have an issue with the changes. Should everyone just be upset, because you are?

You totally missed my point. I am not upset at all because I don't take food out of the dining areas. But I sure don't think that others that want to or have a need to shouldn't be able to.

I'm glad you don't have any issue with increased charges :)

I am having a hard time believing that people are really this naive. You really believe it's about dirty dishes?! You're posting the same thing over and over again. It has nothing to do with dishes, and everything to do with an extra $7.95 per cabin.

Exactly!

And what is unbelievable to me is how many people have posted comments about not caring because it doesn't effect them. :rolleyes:

I like the inside cabins too and especially those on deck 4 on the Radiance Class ships. Very convenient location!

Have sailed in inside, outside, balcony cabins depending on the price difference any will work :)

brentp was just adding to your information - not disagreeing.

The information from Amtrak really isn't clear when the work starts or ends at all - is it :confused:

You may want to look at other transfer options and I believe the rates on Bolt Bus start at $29 pp.

Good luck! It will be a shame to miss the train between Seattle and Vancouver :(

Just wanted to drop in and post about our experience at Nachi on April 23.

It looks like we are in the minority since we didn't love Nachi :( It is a beautiful setting but it just didn't live up to the "hype". The beach is nice but the sand is very deep and hard to walk on if you have any knee issues (like my sister in law). We were able to get the last table available at the pool so that worked better for us.

Back to the beach....there was one person raking and attempting to maintain it. But with a little more effort I think this beach could be just wonderful. The seas were rough the day we were there but I know I would have enjoyed getting in - if we could have set up on the beach.

Our waiter was Manuel and I guess because we were two ladies - he seldom came by to check on us and I had to send Carlos to get him 3 times. Nonetheless, I tipped him $20 for the two of us at the end and that seemed to get his attention - since he called for our taxi back to the ship and it arrived in minutes :)

One thing that we really didn't like was the glass bottles everywhere. In the pool and around the pool. It seems crazy not to use plastic! The people at the table next to us were having so much fun that two bottles eventually broke on the pool deck and glass was everywhere. Although, the staff attempted to clean it up we continued to find glass all around our table.

Lastly, there were definitely more than 100 people there during our visit. There were families that entered in the afternoon which appeared to be related to the staff based on the interaction and the gear/towels that they brought with them. We were hoping for a quieter place to relax but the young children got very loud and took over the stair area to the pool. They only stayed about an hour or so and by about 2 PM the place was very quiet and peaceful again.

Overall, it was a good day - hey we were on vacation afterall! The guacamole was very good and the rest of the food was tasty. But I was expecting just a bit more and for us this AI wasn't what we were looking for in the end.

Interesting thread and I was noticing the same on kroooz cams this week.

I love the snow capped peaks in May too and it would be disappointing to not see that but I guess the plus side is the weather seems to be pleasant already :)

Enjoy your cruise!!!!

Glad everyone is okay and I hope they are able to get T3 up and running again soon.

My only experience leaving from FCO was last October and it went very smooth - but we arrived at the airport about 7:45 AM after doing self disembarkation/walk off at 6:15 AM from the Serenade. I was expecting a bad experience and it was great - even my TSA precheck got applied to my US Air flight so I breezed through :D

I always buy insurance. Usually about the time of final payment but sometimes a couple of weeks before I leave.

You can use the following site to compare policies and buy the plan that works for you. Enjoy Alaska!

http://www.insuremytrip.com

No same cabin category left for my August cruise on Liberty unfortunately.

 

Out of curiosity is there a price that people aim for when booking a cruise i.e price per night for a specific cabin grade. I used to aim for £200 per night for two of us in a balcony cabin (roughly $300), does anyone else do something similar? I think i've found a great price on Allure for April 2016 but just want to reassure myself!

Not sure if it helps oyu but check the price on the next category up. We could have moved to the highest level inside for less than our current CAT N - but we like the location and took the savings.....