alibabacruisers Posted July 23 #51 Share Posted July 23 I love all of your photos! Thank you for sharing them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted July 23 Author #52 Share Posted July 23 One last, rather mundane, photo. People ask about outlets. No USB anywhere. Over the desk there are 2 US, 1 UK, 1 European. There are two other outlets on a cabinet, but they're used by the kettle (EU) and coffeemaker (UK). This is a PG cabin. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted July 25 Author #53 Share Posted July 25 Just thought of another thing. In Vancouver, don't leave before they call your color/number. I went off in the first group, and the only luggage lined up was our Orange 1. So I think they call groups as the luggage is set out. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cavaaller Posted July 26 #54 Share Posted July 26 Thank you @3rdGenCunarder for a fantastic review. I am looking forward to my very first Cunard Cruise and my very first one in Alaska so this review is a gem. Also love your photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NE John Posted July 26 #55 Share Posted July 26 @cavaaller Since you’re new to Cunard, here’s is also a link to my review from my June Alaska voyage on QE. We were very fortunate to have ideal weather and even got a slight tan! Sorry for getting grumpy about the dress code (a big topic around here). Here’s the link and ask questions: https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=717193 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 2BACRUISER Posted August 20 #56 Share Posted August 20 @NE John just read your review did you do Cunard excursions or book independently? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NE John Posted August 20 #57 Share Posted August 20 1 hour ago, 2BACRUISER said: @NE John just read your review did you do Cunard excursions or book independently? thanks I booked through Cunard, months in advance except the Butchard Gardens excursion in Victoria. We used OBC for that one. I would book the excursions you really want to go in early because some were sold out: Dog sledding, helicopter tours, even the Lumberjack show was sold out. Use Cunard especially for Butchard Gardens because it’s not near the port and public transit requires too many stops. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukeBeetle24 Posted August 20 #58 Share Posted August 20 On 7/26/2024 at 8:37 PM, NE John said: @cavaaller Since you’re new to Cunard, here’s is also a link to my review from my June Alaska voyage on QE. We were very fortunate to have ideal weather and even got a slight tan! Sorry for getting grumpy about the dress code (a big topic around here). Here’s the link and ask questions: https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=717193 Thanks for this link, it was a good read and nice to get some thoughts. I don't think you came across as grumpy - I think it's a fair question for Cunard to address in their marketing, onsite language as well as onboard teams. Something I believe is being looked at (marketing the "Cunard difference"). Looking forward to our own QE trip next year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Megabear2 Posted August 20 #59 Share Posted August 20 1 hour ago, NE John said: I booked through Cunard, months in advance except the Butchard Gardens excursion in Victoria. We used OBC for that one. I would book the excursions you really want to go in early because some were sold out: Dog sledding, helicopter tours, even the Lumberjack show was sold out. Use Cunard especially for Butchard Gardens because it’s not near the port and public transit requires too many stops. Following on from your recommendations last week I've secured my train ride and float plane. However there are no Lumberjack show, helicopters or dogs showing on any of my ports - different itinerary - so I'm wondering if they are incomplete? Certainly only two excursions showing for Victoria, did you have more or is that it? As I'm now confirmed as solo I want to use as many Cunard excursions as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted August 20 Author #60 Share Posted August 20 1 hour ago, NE John said: I booked through Cunard, months in advance except the Butchard Gardens excursion in Victoria. We used OBC for that one. I would book the excursions you really want to go in early because some were sold out: Dog sledding, helicopter tours, even the Lumberjack show was sold out. Use Cunard especially for Butchard Gardens because it’s not near the port and public transit requires too many stops. Wow, I've never seen the Lumberkack show sell out!!! But most, if not all, of the limited-size tours did sell out in advance on my cruise. Sadly, all the helicopter tours were cancelled due to rain. I've done Butchard Gardens through the ship once and on my own, using a tour company that departs in front of the hotel where the ship shuttle drops you off. I did the independent tour because it had earlier departures, so I would have more time at the gardens. I took a taxi into the city and found the tour bus easily. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted August 20 Author #61 Share Posted August 20 1 minute ago, Megabear2 said: Following on from your recommendations last week I've secured my train ride and float plane. However there are no Lumberjack show, helicopters or dogs showing on any of my ports - different itinerary - so I'm wondering if they are incomplete? Certainly only two excursions showing for Victoria, did you have more or is that it? As I'm now confirmed as solo I want to use as many Cunard excursions as possible. Lumberjack is Ketchikan. I think the helicopters to the glacier and dogs were from Juneau. There are helicopters from Skagway, too, but that wasn't one of the ports on my cruise. When is your cruise? They don't always load all tours at one time. For mine, Haines and Wrangle tours loaded a few weeks after the other ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Megabear2 Posted August 20 #62 Share Posted August 20 14 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said: Lumberjack is Ketchikan. I think the helicopters to the glacier and dogs were from Juneau. There are helicopters from Skagway, too, but that wasn't one of the ports on my cruise. When is your cruise? They don't always load all tours at one time. For mine, Haines and Wrangle tours loaded a few weeks after the other ports. This is my itinerary 08/09/2025 Seattle Port Embarkation 09/09/2025 At Sea 10/09/2025 Ketchican 11/09/2025 Juneau 12/09/2025 Skagway 13/09/2025 Glacier Bay 14/09/2025 Icy Straight Point 15/09/2025 Endicott Arm 16/09/2025 At Sea 17/09/2025 Victoria 18/09/2025 Seattle Port Disembark Tours are showing for all but Victoria but there aren't vast numbers at any port although some are already sold out! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted August 20 Author #63 Share Posted August 20 13 minutes ago, Megabear2 said: This is my itinerary 08/09/2025 Seattle Port Embarkation 09/09/2025 At Sea 10/09/2025 Ketchican 11/09/2025 Juneau 12/09/2025 Skagway 13/09/2025 Glacier Bay 14/09/2025 Icy Straight Point 15/09/2025 Endicott Arm 16/09/2025 At Sea 17/09/2025 Victoria 18/09/2025 Seattle Port Disembark Tours are showing for all but Victoria but there aren't vast numbers at any port although some are already sold out! This far out, it isn't surprising that the list isn't full. Unless you have a lot of OBC to use, don't feel too tied to ship tours. Vendors are regulated well, so you don't have a risk of a dodgy tour. Juneau is great for whale watches. Do some research to see which companies they're using. Look for a small boat experience. There are good ones for going independently, if you feel up to that (they pick you up right at the pier). The port of call thread will have suggestions. If you want a ship tour, look for the "photo safari." It's more expensive, but they limit the group to about 14, so there's plenty of room for whale viewing. That's Gastineau Guiding. You probably can't book any of their tours independently because the cruise lines contract with them. Icy Strait Point is another good whale watch spot. Again, consider going with a nonship tour. Hoonah Adventures was excellent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NE John Posted August 20 #64 Share Posted August 20 (edited) 1 hour ago, Megabear2 said: Following on from your recommendations last week I've secured my train ride and float plane. However there are no Lumberjack show, helicopters or dogs showing on any of my ports - different itinerary - so I'm wondering if they are incomplete? Certainly only two excursions showing for Victoria, did you have more or is that it? As I'm now confirmed as solo I want to use as many Cunard excursions as possible. We did the Lumberjack show/Dungeness crab feast combo in Ketchikan. Maybe the feast part was sold out but the show seemed filled, from what I saw, 100% full. That was a fun combo and we befriended a solo female cruiser at the crab feast. The airline lost her luggage. The crab feast is a good activity for solo’s because you eat a communal table and everyone was open and friendly. Edited August 20 by NE John Duplication from above info 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Megabear2 Posted August 20 #65 Share Posted August 20 16 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said: This far out, it isn't surprising that the list isn't full. Unless you have a lot of OBC to use, don't feel too tied to ship tours. Vendors are regulated well, so you don't have a risk of a dodgy tour. Juneau is great for whale watches. Do some research to see which companies they're using. Look for a small boat experience. There are good ones for going independently, if you feel up to that (they pick you up right at the pier). The port of call thread will have suggestions. If you want a ship tour, look for the "photo safari." It's more expensive, but they limit the group to about 14, so there's plenty of room for whale viewing. That's Gastineau Guiding. You probably can't book any of their tours independently because the cruise lines contract with them. Icy Strait Point is another good whale watch spot. Again, consider going with a nonship tour. Hoonah Adventures was excellent. Thank you. I've just been back into my booking and a lot of new tours for Ketchican have appeared, several on planes including one with grizzly bears. I have been looking at Icy Strait for whale watching as I thought the flight plane would need to be Juneau. I may change to Ketchican as there are three choices there, including a three hour option which would give me more time for other stuff. The float plane is my real must do, I've been cancelled three times before in Dubai and Canada. I've just seen a hovercraft there too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Megabear2 Posted August 20 #66 Share Posted August 20 3 minutes ago, NE John said: We did the Lumberjack show/Dungeness crab feast combo in Ketchikan. Maybe the feast part was sold out but the show seemed filled, from what I saw, 100% full. That was a fun combo and we befriended a solo female cruiser at the crab feast. The airline lost her luggage. The crab feast is a good activity for solo’s because you eat a communal table and everyone was open and friendly. Yes, that sounded good fun but I have no Cunard offering to date. I have seen an offering on T/A but it's not on sale yet. As I said above some more stuff has appeared for Ketchican today so maybe it's coming soon. Re the crabs one of the Seattle residents mentioned I might be out of season for them in Seattle so maybe it affects Ketchican as well? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted August 20 Author #67 Share Posted August 20 2 minutes ago, Megabear2 said: Thank you. I've just been back into my booking and a lot of new tours for Ketchican have appeared, several on planes including one with grizzly bears. I have been looking at Icy Strait for whale watching as I thought the flight plane would need to be Juneau. I may change to Ketchican as there are three choices there, including a three hour option which would give me more time for other stuff. The float plane is my real must do, I've been cancelled three times before in Dubai and Canada. I've just seen a hovercraft there too! Is the hovercraft in Ketchikan? That's fairly new. I booked it, mainly because I've been there several times, and it was something new to try. It was cancelled for "operational reasons," whatever that was, so I can't tell you anything about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Megabear2 Posted August 20 #68 Share Posted August 20 (edited) 54 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said: Is the hovercraft in Ketchikan? That's fairly new. I booked it, mainly because I've been there several times, and it was something new to try. It was cancelled for "operational reasons," whatever that was, so I can't tell you anything about it. Yes it is. Sounded interesting and quite a useful short trip. I like "fill in" things like that as I like to use all my time productively. I'm looking at things like cable car and trams as well. I'm conscious one port isn't a full day so want to fill those that are to the brim! Juneau 10.00am to 9.00pm Ketchican 8.30am to 4.00pm Skagway 7.00am to 9.00pm Icy Point 7.00am to 6.00pm Victoria 9.00am to 9.00pm Edited August 20 by Megabear2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted August 20 Author #69 Share Posted August 20 1 hour ago, Megabear2 said: Yes it is. Sounded interesting and quite a useful short trip. I like "fill in" things like that as I like to use all my time productively. I'm looking at things like cable car and trams as well. I'm conscious one port isn't a full day so want to fill those that are to the brim! Juneau 10.00am to 9.00pm Ketchican 8.30am to 4.00pm Skagway 7.00am to 9.00pm Icy Point 7.00am to 6.00pm Victoria 9.00am to 9.00pm Give yourself time to walk around, too. Ketchikan and Skagway are good for that. Skagway has an excellent microbrewery if that appeals to you. And both ports have yarn shops if you're a knitter or weaver. The cablecar in Juneau is a beautiful ride, but don't book it in advance because you never know if the day will be like this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techteach Posted August 25 #70 Share Posted August 25 Lots of thoughts as I read the posts. My 2 cents worth: +We did the hovercraft to view wild life and saw none. +Tram in Juneau. Go walk around and then come back to it. A huge line forms and it took us a good 30 minutes or more standing in line. When we came back down, about 30 minutes later, the line has dissipated. +Crab will be available in Alaska at any time I think. In Seattle the fresh crab is Dungeness and is seasonal, in Alaska crab is usually King, or sometimes Snow. In Seattle King crab is frozen at sea and shipped, or flown, down. +When I did a last minute cruise 2 years ago all of the ship excursions were sold out, so I booked through Trip Advisor with no problems at all. Also, I was thinking about your love of Italian food. Just down the alley from your hotel is a really fun and popular Italian restaurant called The Pink Door. You Must make reservations well in advance. If you go later in the evening there is live music. If you go earlier sit out of the deck and hopefully enjoy the sunshine. (It’s not the best Italian food in Seattle, but its probably the most fun and easily within waking distance) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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