tundra1

Thank you for the dailies!

Do you have any of the Dailies?  TIA!

We had a 10:45am flight out of Miami and made it there in plenty of time.  We self-disembarked and got an Uber to the airport.  Once we got to the airport, we were ahead of all the bus passengers, so TSA went pretty quickly.  We had plenty of time!

My recommendation would be to fly into Anchorage, stay downtown, take the downtown trolley tour, get a nice meal at one of the Breweries,  then take the train in the morning to Seward and spend a second night there.  You can take a Kenai Fjords tour when you arrive in Seward, and go to the Sea Life center the next morning before boarding the ship.  

Once you get to Vancouver, plan on staying there for a night or two and then taking the train to Seattle and flying out of SeaTak.  Both Vancouver and Seattle are really great cities and worth spending some time there, so you can figure out if you want to spend time in Seattle also.  

We cruised Holland America to Alaska and their were over 100 kids in the kids club.  It is more a multi-generational ship, and the kids had a blast.  Just go with the better itinerary.  NCL Star has great itineraries but there are lots of complaints about the food and the unfriendly staff recently.

Do a fake booking on Celebrity with two people in the cabin and then do the same room as a single.  See which costs more.  The latest rumor is that Celebrity is charging more for a solo cruiser in a cabin than for 2 regular cruisers in the same cabin.  Because of that, I would sail on Princess.

I was wondering if the Visa Gift Cards would be accepted in foreign countries.  That is good to know.  We have plans for a rainforest tour in Costa Rica but we have to pay at the entrance to the park.  It would be a piece of mind to use a Visa Gift Card.  Thank you!

On 11/8/2023 at 7:21 AM, Mum2Mercury said:

You're limiting your potential loss to the cash in your pocket.  

Another option:  Buy yourself a VISA gift card.  If any nefarious operator were to try to rip you off, they could only access the $50 or so you'd loaded on the card.  They wouldn't have access to your real credit card.  

Looking at the map, it seems as though there are lots of areas to explore.  So, I was wondering if you can kayak around all those little islands that lead to the eastern point, or if you have to stay in the area of the boat launch only.

Thanks!

Okay, thanks!  That sounds like it won't be as much fun as being able to go off and explore on our own.  

The excursion takes you to an island pretty far out.  We really liked that experience.  The non-excursion people had to stay within the buoys at the beach area.  That would have a been a waste of time for us.

Has anyone rented kayaks on Harvest Caye?  Do you have to stay in a marked area of the lagoon. or are their side channels you can explore?  We are going in March.  TIA!

We have booked with tours plaza as well.  Our port day will also be a Sunday.  I am hopeful things will go well.  We want to go to a local grocery store.  Do you think we will need Pesos?

Thanks for any input!

8 hours ago, bookbabe said:

As an FYI, traffic along that main road (West Bay Rd) gets HORRENDOUS after about 4pm.  A 10 min drive in normal traffic can take up to 40 min.  We got stuck in it Friday (Camana Bay to downtown took 45 min). Whatever you do, make sure you are back in the area of the port well before rush hour starts.

We will be there on a Sunday.  Is traffic bad on Sundays as well?  I think we will try to get to the beach early in the morning and then head back around lunch time, so we can get some shopping done as well.  

Do you recommend shopping along West Bay Rd, or somewhere closer to the port?  It would just be for the usual souvenir stuff:  refrigerator magnets, ornaments, earrings, and maybe a cute T-Shirt for the grandkids.

Thanks!

5 hours ago, bookbabe said:

A 5pm ship departure usually means the last tender would be at 4:30, so I’d personally want to be back at the port no later than 4pm, so I’d leave in a taxi by say 3:30 at the latest.  Taking the bus will take longer than a taxi, there’s no way of knowing how many stops they’ll make on the way, so my comfort level would have me leaving by 3 pm.  But your mileage may vary, as they say, but I’d rather leave a bit early and have a bit of time to look in the stores at the pier than be delayed and miss the ship.  Adjust these times based on when your ship says the last tender is…you want to be back well before the departure time of the last tender.

 

Thanks!  That is a big help!

On 11/2/2023 at 8:50 AM, bookbabe said:

Depends on what you want out of a beach.  If you need facilities/food, see my post above.  If you just want to DIY and throw a towel on the sand, Governor’s Beach is probably the nicest, IMO.

 

For the return trip, go back to where they dropped you off and wave at the bus as it approaches.

We want to go to Governor's Beach or Cemetery Beach via Public bus.  If our ship leaves at 5pm, at what time should we leave the  beach to walk to the bus stop and take the bus back to the tender port?  We are there on a Sunday if that makes a difference.  TIA!

Thanks!  We will be there in March, and I still can't decide if we should do an excursion or try it on our own.  One of our travel party does not walk well, and the other one has trouble in the heat, which is making planning a little more challenging.  I appreciate your detailed description!

We did a cruise tour last year.  There were open blocks of time that we could use to go on hikes on our own, or to take an excursion booked through the cruise line.  I do suggest doing the land portion first, and then a 7-day cruise southbound.  The land portions are tiring.  You are doing stuff all day, but it is so beautiful and there are so many opportunities up there!  Enjoy your time!  Whitewater rafting looks like fun!  We went zip lining and did an ATV excursion in the Denali area.  Both of those adventures were totally worth it.  The Tundra Wildnerness Tour in Denali National Park was part of our tour package, and we had a glorious time there as well!  We saw Denali's summit, and all 5 of the "big 5" animals along the way.  It was truly magical!

Enjoy your adventure!

Hey, @schmoopie17!  Maybe most of these folks are not from Wisconsin, so they don't have the same background as we do!. Wisconsin is a very friendly, but fiercely independent state.  We love to welcome friends, family, coworkers, etc. to our events.  But there is never the expectation that we will have to "entertain" them 24/7.  We travel with friends often, and love the times we spend together, but also appreciate the times when we go off on our own. Question:  if a passenger is booked for "Haven", does that mean they are not allowed to dine in the MDR or participate in other events around the ship?  I don't understand the comment that if your friends were in the Haven, you would never be able to see them.

When I read the title of your post, I thought, "Oh, we should do that sometime!"  We also have friends from WI who have moved to AZ, and would love to surprise them one day.  And they would love to be surprised!  

Have a great time!  I look forward to your posts letting us know how the trip turned out!  

And, GO PACK GO!  💚💛💚

We did an Alaskan cruise tour last year prior to our cruise.  We were blessed with an amazing group of people on our tour, and many of them have become close friends.  It was great on the ship to know so many people, so there was always someone to sit with in the evenings or at the buffet, or while playing trivia, etc.  For our first time going to Alaska, it was a wonderful introduction to that beautiful state!

We did 2 days down in Seward on our own before starting the tour in Anchorage.  That turned out to be a good decision as well, because Seward is such a beautiful town with so much to do.  Plus it gave us time to adjust to the time difference before joining our land adventure with the cruise line.

However, the next time, we will do the land portion on our own.  I want more time in Denali, and more time to explore other areas of Alaska.  We used Airbnb and Turo for our lodging and car, and that was perfect for us.

Either way, you will have a great time!

Thanks!  I will look them up!  I appreciate the suggestions!

We will be there on March 10th, so it might be sargassum season.  I don't want to just make guacamole and salsa, so being at Playa Mia might not be the best option.  We will have a beach day at Harvest Caye the stop before Cozumel, so I was hoping to do something different in Mexico.  Plaza Tours might be our best option.

Thanks!

We are trying to figure out what to do on a Sunday port stop in Cozumel.  We had planned on doing the Cozumel Bar Hop, but they don't operate on Sundays, which is the day we will be there.  I can't tell from the description what this excursion all includes, but is seems rather pricey for what is described.  If anyone has any experience with this tour, and whether they felt they would do it again, please let me know,

Thanks in advance!  🙂

On 8/28/2023 at 3:27 PM, Saint Greg said:

yeah it’s basically fish and chips. Cod. But they do call it a fish fry.

 

 

A true Wisconsin Fish Fry also serves Walleye and Lake Perch.  Those are the best options!  

I would suggest getting a balcony cabin.  Since you may need time to just get away and decompress, it would be nice to have your balcony as a quiet option.  Download music and bring your air pods.  Also if your ship has a deck behind the lifeboats, that deck is usually not crowded and a great place to walk.  Hot tubs are usually less busy during dinner time or later in the evening, which is also a nice way to reset yourself.  If your ship has a thermal spa, that is also another option if it is within your budget.

Have a great time!  There are so many options, I am sure after the first day, you will have a routine that works for you!

@Sthrngary  Hi, we have a regular balcony cabin.  Thanks again!