TravelingEA

We purchased ours several years ago and have it (and nothing else) in a Roth IRA. The quarterly dividends are reinvested. I have no plans to sell it, and within a Roth there is no RMD's to be concerned about. My kids can worry about the RMD when they inherit the Roth IRA.

Another vote for OBC. We don't drink much. Maybe happy hour once or twice. The OBC pays for our tips with money left over for a coffee card. I just booked and should have about $700 in OBC when we sail next spring.

We went on the Ruby May 22. We went partway, but then had a small boat excursion that picked us off the ship. We then went all the way to the Sawyer glacier. It was the 1st small boat trip of the year, and the crew said they really should not have gone due to the amount of ice.

I checked our December cruise and the total price including port charges increased by $300 per person. It is not worth it for us.

I checked the rates for the free gratuities (red white & blue sale) on a cruise we have booked in December. The same category was $600 more using the promo than what we had booked.

Son and DIL are on the Ruby in a couple weeks. Can you tell me if they had the "puppies in the piazza"? We got a chance to hold the sled dog puppies last week on the Crown while we were docked in Skagway. --Hoping the Ruby has that opportunity.

They had them, but we did not get a chance to see them, since we took the White Pass RR trip.

pier 91 is not within the downtown area that qualifies for the $40 flat rate to the airport. Pier 66 is.

 

There is a flat rate cab company ....http://www.flatrateforhire.com / eastsideforhire.com. Their rate from pier 91 is $35 but that's a prius. They have a few minivans which I believe are $42. You'll need a reservation.

There is some false advertising at Pier 91. There is a sign when you approach the cabs, saying $40 flat rate to the airport for 4 people. We had 4 and were directed to a SUV. We asked, as we were being directed to the SUV, if that vehicle was the $40 flat rate. We were told yes, and after we loaded the luggage and got in, we asked the driver. He basically laughed and said are you kidding - it is distance and would be about $65.

We just got off the Ruby. They took reservations, except for 2 nights, where there was open dining. One night was when we were in Juneau until late and the other was when we were in Victoria.

We were on the same cruise and the review that Lhartwick was right on! One comment, the sleddog racers name is Libby Riddles, not Reynolds. This is our second AK cruise and we saw Libby give a talk in 2005 as well. She is very interesting! I spoke with her briefly, and she said she had been doing talks on Princess ships for 15 years. They day we were in Juneau, she gave 2 other talks on the Grand and the Coral in Juneau. We were talk number 3 for the day for her.

We also did the small boat excursion to South Sawyer Glacier. The naturalist on board the boat we were on, mentioned several times, that there really was too much ice to go to the glacier, but we made it there and back to the ship. It was one of the best excursions we have been on.

We did see magician on board in the explorers lounge. He was excellent!

I was looking forward to the new show Magic To Do. Unfortunately, it was not on this ship.

We also did the White Pass Railroad and bus trip to Carcross, Yukon Territory. We saw 6 bear in the bus part, including a mother and 2 cubs. They were just eating dandelions on the side of the road and just stood there and ate, while we took pictures.

Hats off the the embarkation at Seattle. We were in our room by 11:30 AM.

We flew from MSP to SEA on May 21. We did have our boarding passes stamped TSA preapproved. We do not pay for it, but seem to get it about 75% of the time. At MSP going out, we walked right up to the TSA agent, no one was in his line. Coming back from SEA on May 29, we waited less than 5 minutes in the TSA line. We had a longer wait to check in luggage at the airline desk. I had downloaded the TSA app, but did not use it at all.

There is a free app called My TSA. You can find wait times at various airports. I just downloaded it today. I am interested to see how it works. I did hear about it on a travel talk show on the radio today.

I, too, am looking forward to more. We leave on the Ruby roundtrip from Seattle on Sunday May 22nd.

The excursion company, should have potential losses, in their pricing plans, just like a retailer does with credit card fees and shrinkage.

Not if its a cruise to Alaska! Princess is trying something new this year and Alaska excursions must be paid in advance!

I am going to Alaska this year, and have an excursion booked. I was not asked to pay for it.

The Empire Builder would be fairly easy to book separately from the cruise. Go to Amtrak's website to see. We have done the Empire Builder by itself, without the cruise and have done a cruise at the same time.

I was told, the last time we were on that train, if you want a sleeper car, you need to make reservations at least 1 year in advance. If you do Alaska to or from Vancouver, there is an Amtrak train that goes between Vancouver and Seattle that would connect. I don't know about the connection times though.

As far as viewing goes - I find that the upper, public decks are best. I feel that is especially true in Glacier National Park. You didn't mention which itinerary you are booking so I don't know if Glacier applies to your sailing or not.

I don't think too many cruise ships go to Glacier Nation Park in Montana.

Any cabin is the best for going to Alaska. Much better than sitting at my desk.

Many people will only go on one cruise in their lifetime. Alaska is the ultimate cruise for many people.

Our shares are in a Roth IRA, with dividend reinvestment, so that when the time comes that we have to take RMD's from IRA's, we will not have to sell some of the CCL stock. Our kids will get it when we are ready to go. In the meantime, we get the annual dividends as well as the tax free on board credit.

We will be going there for the 1st time in December. We don't really care for Princess Cays. We usually go on shore for the lunch, but that is about it.

I have received 3 scoops for one punch on Ruby.

Why do people write this??? I've made numerous trips in Sept, and found excellent, friendly service. You make it sound like, a light switch goes off with personalities and it's one grumpy, rude experience, with a big cloud hanging overhead.

I have worked in towns that are very dependent on seasonal tourism. I have seen it in many parts of the country.

In May, the employees in the tourist areas are happy to see you. In September, they cannot wait to get rid of you. I vote for May.

Pretty sure the cut-off date is final payment.

Once you make your final payment, even if it before it is due, you cannot transfer to a TA.

We are thinking of taking an Alaskan cruise RT from Seattle in September 2017. We realize that selection doesn't offer a land tour. Several of our friends are telling us we are nuts not to fly into Alaska (or Vancouver) and do the Denali cruise tour before or after the cruise. I'd love to hear from cruisers out there who have gone to Alaska from Seattle and whether they've regretted their decision. Thanks!

We did the land portion in 2005. We did not see Denali, although we took the wilderness tour. We had much more time available then. We are doing the RT from Seattle in May, since I can not take more than 7 days vacation at at time. If you do the round trip, make sure it includes Glacier Bay.