May 2006 - Spirit Of Rockies Land Tour Followed By Splendour Of The Glaciers Cruise

[margord]

One more question. We will be in Calgary the first and second of July. Will it be warm enough for shorts?

[captainron]

Why of course!!! Come and help us celebrate Canada Day

 

Ciao for now!!!

[cruiseryyc]

While it should be warm enough for shorts, I would bring along long pants and a wind jacket just in case. We had a lousy summer last year so hopefully the odds are in our favour this year and the July 1st weekend will be sunny and hot!!!

[margord]

Thank you both.

 

Marilee

[suron]

Hi There Marilee

 

Hope your plans are going well for your trip. As yet we have not found anyone on the Rockies Land Tour the same week as ourselves but we have joined a Roll Call for the Alaska cruise which has quite a few people on it and we plan to meet up on Dawn Princess.

 

We were originally planning to travel on the Sun Princess at the beginning of May but could not link up the Land Tour with the 14th May sailing and are we glad we did not get that. On reading the various threads it seems that that sailing has been cancelled and there are a lot of disappointed passengers who have now been transferred to Dawn Princess but cannot get the same cabins and a lot of them have arranged their flights independently so are having problems sorting that out.

 

Have you booked any excursions yet? We have the White Pass Railroad trip in Skagway booked and are leaning towards the Mendenhall Glacier with Salmon Bake trip in Juneau but cannot decide whether or not to take the flight over the Glacier too. We hope to go up the Mt Roberts Tramway in Juneau but will book this ourselves. It is the same price to do it this way as to book via Princess and we have been advised not to take this trip if you cannot see the top of the mountain due to mist as it would be a bit of a waste of money. In Ketchikan we plan just to wander around the town - apparentely we will see plenty of totem poles for free on the Rockies section so there is no need to pay out for a trip to see them. We may take in the Lumberjack Show just for a laugh - understand it is worth doing for an hour's entertainment. With such a short time in Victoria (7.30pm to midnight) we will probably take one of Princess' excursions just to get a feel of the city at night. Would like to see Butchart Gardens lit up which looks very attractive on the website I found for this.

 

There are a few optional excursions on the Rockies section apparently. Our friends have advised us to consider doing a helicopter flight over the glaciers at Mt Assingiboine near Banff. There is less likelihood of it being cancelled there. Their seaplane trip in Juneau was cancelled due to bad

weather but at least they had had the experience of a glacier flight in the Rockies. They also had the chance to go rafting down the Athabasca River near Jasper (not for us I don't think) and they took a gondola (chair lift) ride up Mt Whitehorn at Lake Louise. They said the snowcoach ride on the Athabasca Glacier was a great experience. This is one of the included excursions on the Land Tour. Our friends have said that Stanley Park in Vancouver is very pretty

 

As you have probably discovered, some of the trips are quite pricey and with two elements involved (the Land Tour and the cruise) we will have to consider all the options very carefully. :confused: :confused:

 

We have invested in stout walking boots and have been wearing them to break them in and we have our waterproof jackets. Will have to find a hat - which is a must-have it appears. We are also going to invest in some of the special locks to comply with US Airport regulations.

 

I read a very informative thread in the Princess Cruises section entitled To Lock or Not To Lock and from there have found the UK link for TSA Locks. Best to be on the safe side just in case the customs feel inclined to open our cases.

 

It won't be long now before we are off. Good luck with your plans. If you come up with any recommendations or tips do let us know.

 

Bye for now

fron Suzanne (Suron) ;) :)

[margord]

Hey Suron,

 

So glad to hear from you. So now when exactly are your sailing and when exactly is your Rockie Tour?

 

I have found one other person on the cruise portion of our trip but no one on the land (rockies) portion. It is hard to imagine as I thing this land tour is the best they offer. I just can't wait.

 

I am still very interested in getting information on just what we can take with us as far as how many suitcases and sizes of the carryons. I guess we will not know for sure until we get our documents.

 

We have booked a helecopter up to the glacier and some tours of other ports. I want to see the Red Onion Saloon and Mt. Roberts Tramway, but plan on doing both on our own also.

 

I wish Princess would come out with info months in advance of this tour. We are really excited and the more I read the better. I even bought an Alaska for Dummies book and plan on reading it thoroughly.

 

Take Care

 

Marilee

[suron]

Hi There Marilee

 

We fly from Heathrow to Calgary on 22nd May and our Land Tour ends in Seattle where we join Dawn Princess on 27th for the Alaska cruise element.

 

So far we have booked the White Pass Rail Trip in Skagway -booked through Princess - SGYI1 which leaves at 12.40.

 

In Juneau we are leaning towards the De Luxe Mendenhall Glacier Tour which seems to take in all the sights we want to see in one trip. If we can get on one of the earlier trips we would then have the time to take the Mount Roberts Tramway - it is open until 9 pm each day but friends advised us not to go if we cannot see the top of the mountain as it would be a waste of time and money. The price is the same whether you book through Princess or go to the booth independently but the ticket can be used all day by all accounts. We can also take time to visit the Red Dog Saloon there too and visit the many shops.

 

In Ketchikan there is such a short time in port that we have not yet quite decided what to plan. I came across a very interesting website for a Duck Tour in this port. http.//www.akduck.com if you want to check it out. The 90 min tour costs $36 and looks like a fun thing and a way of seeing everything. It would mean booking direct as Princess do not appear to have this on their list. We have been told that the Lumberjack Show is a good hour's entertainment and is in walking distance from the ship so we could always wander around the town afterwards and call in at the famous Dollys House (just to say we have been there of course!!). There is another website (dolllys-trolleytours.com/dollyshouse.htm) which organises tours to include a visit to the famous house of ill-repute.

 

Friends who did a similar trip to ours have told us that you get the chance to see lots of totem poles for FREE on the land tour section near the Athabasca Glacier so can't see any point in paying to see them in Alaska. The same friends advised us to seriously consider taking a helicopter or seaplane trip on the Rockies section as there is less likelihood of it being cancelled. They did this and were glad they did as their seaplane trip in Juneau was cancelled due to a) bad weather conditions and b) late arrival in port but as they had booked it with Princess they did not incur any cancellation charges as they would have done apparently had they booked it privately!

 

In Victoria we will probably go for the Butchart Gardens trip. We are not there for long and it is an evening arrival (7.30pm) so we will probably take advantage of the Princess tour which has the lights show - spectacular according to reports read elsewhere on these threads

 

If the Land Tour we take follows a similar pattern to the one our friends took we can expect to be offered something like the following for optional extra excursions:

 

Helicopter Flight over Mt Assiniboine near Banff - flight lasts about 30 mins over the glaciers, lakes and mountain peaks.

 

Rafting Adventure (I don't think this is one for us) down the Athabasca River near Jasper.

 

Gondola (Chair Lift) Ride up to the top of Mt Whitehorn at Lake Louise - this came highly recommended.

 

Boat Trip on Lake Maligne (near Sun Peaks I think)

 

These extras may have changed since they went but it gives us an idea of what may be on offer. I really wish Princess would give us the whole story on optional trips. We really need to be aware of the Land Tour ones to plan ahead both from the excursion point of view and the budgeting!!

 

The included snow ride over the Glacier is by all accounts a wonderful experience and the scenery in the Rockies is going to be wonderful.

 

Hope this information is of help to you. If you have any recommendations or tips do let us know. Just remind me again, are you doing the same itinerary as us or does yours take in the Rocky Mountaineer Train? If it does you may be restricted on what luggage you can take on the train.

 

I have ascertained that from England we will be allowed two cases each and each one must not be more than 32kgs. Still cannot get any information as to how many cases each we will be allowed on the Land Tour section but friends said they packed a case each with clothes for the cruise and a case each with clothes for the land tour. The cruise cases were sent ahead and they collected them in Seattle. This is one reason why we are seriously thinking of investing in the special locks. I will endeavour to get some information from Princess to clarify the situation but doubt if they will give me a straight answer!!

 

Bye for now ;)

Suzanne

[margord]

Hi Again,

 

We are on the Rockie Mountainteer train so I guess that means even less luggage. I agree with you Princess needs to give us more information. Don't they know we like getting as much info as possible as soon as possible? Of well, I guess we just need patience.

 

I will be so anxious to hear from you after your cruise. Keep in touch.

 

Marilee

[suron]

Hi There Marilee

 

I e-mailed Princess UK on one or two points and had a nice e-mail back. It seems that an optional land tour booklet will be sent with our tickets. The optional land tour excursions cannot be booked on line but can be arranged by post or can be booked once you meet the guide at the start of the Rockies tour. It seems so silly that Princess are putting together the package for us of a Land Tour and Cruise but aren't giving us any help with the excursions for one element of the trip. It could be that the Land Tour is contracted out to private companies out there and they have the monopoly on the 'extras' available not Princess. Just a thought.

 

I also queried why, from other threads posted by our Roll Call members, I discovered they already have their pre-cruise documentation. It seems Princess UK are awaiting a shipment (presumably from America) of these documents and they will be sent to us as soon as possible. Will just have to pick the brains of my American fellow travellers.

 

Regarding the luggage allowance on the outward section with Air Canada we are allowed two cases each with a max weight of 23 kgs each case and on the way back with British Airways it is two cases each with a max weight of 32kgs each case - so I WILL be able to bring back all those wonderful souveniers after all!!! Still could not get clarification as to how many cases we would be allowed on the coach but if they are saying we can have two cases each then presumably we will not be restricted on the coach. I think you may find you could be restricted on the train part on your trip - worth checking out eh? You may even find that travelling within America you may be limited to a less generous allowance. We find this is the case for us when we travel within Europe (only 20 kgs each in total and on some airlines it can be as low as 15 kgs each in total!!)

 

Hope your plans are going well.

Bye for now

Suzanne :) :)

[margord]

Suzanne,

 

Thanks for all that great info. I wish Princess would tell us all this ahead of time instead of having to pull it out of them.

 

As for luggage and planes we are flying from the USA to Canada, therefore, it is considered international travel and we will have not problem with weight of luggage. However, coming home we fly from Seattle to Baltimore and there is the problem as it is considered domestic even though we flew into Canada. So I do have to be careful.

 

Would be such a big deal but I have no clue what to pack. Do I pack shorts? Do I pack all long pants? Do I need turtlenecks? DO I need heavy jackets or light jackets. I don't want to be too cold and I don't want to be too hot.

 

When you have a chance send me a message at Mar_Gord@hotmail.com. I will check it out and reply and give you my real E-mail and we and correspond off line a little (if you want).

 

Marilee