Hi everyone! I’m planning an upcoming Alaska cruise and have three quick questions regarding medical insurance and evacuation coverage:
Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
We are going to Alaska this summer- while it is unlikely something will happen , it seems a good idea to have protection - what are the most reliable plans put there?
I just came back from my first ever cruise and my first Alaskan cruise vacation with celebrity solstice, this was a 7 night Hubbard glacier cruise and round trip from Vancouver BC. I had a lot of fun and I enjoyed every part of it, Here is something for the first time people on a cruise to Alaska if you like me you may be unaware of it .
the time change: i believe it was the 2nd day of sea day , the day fell back another hour, I got up early and headed to the restaurant, and the crew members told me it will start at 6:30 am and my watch said it was past 7 am , and same as the last sea day we short one hour, your cellphone wouldn't change to the local time, you have to change it yourself.
the weather can be unpredictable: it could be chilly in the morning, but later in the afternoon you see local people in town have short and T-shirt walks with their dogs, and that's always a chance to rain , don't count on that sunny day if it is a port day, a water resistant jacket is good to carry with you. because i looked at the weather forecast and it said 50% rain and i was soaked from head to toes in a pouring rain
wild life is closer than you thought: when I was at icy straight point, i decided to hike 1.6 miles to visit the village of Hoonah.I saw quite a few whales from the sidewalk near the beach, I could see the tail and I saw it a couple of times, and when i was at Juneau, we saw bold eagle, seals in the sea , when I was in katchiken, I saw dears when I was hiking, if you have a good binoculars you should bring with you, I think this is why I like this trip, the outdoors are so exciting .
your excursion can be cancelled due to the weather: my zipline in icy straight point and my canoeing /hiking in katchiken got cancelled due to the weather, the cruise will refund your money, but that means you should have had a plan B , it is better to do some research yourself in case you want to cancel the excursions to do your own exploration or the cruise cancel in the last minute ( my case is when we gathered and prepared to leave the boat they told us the excursions was cancelled) , luckily i have an idea what should I do, so i ended left the boat started do my own adventure.
your cruise ship isn't the only one to travel to Alaska: i thought my cruise ship is the only one on the sea, and i saw 2 cruise ships in front and one behind me. that means there are a few thousand people like you who are going to do the same thing, if you really like to taste "Tracy " , do it first , because there will be a line up, if you are going to take a Uber/taxi in Vancouver to the airport, there will be thousands of people also going to take them to the airport, ask the cruise to book a shuttle bus if you want to skip all the husstle, or plan ahead or research first to take the local transportation. the first and last day is always chaotic, i have never seen that many people get on and get off , and also if you want to finalize your bill on the cruise, do it the last port day, in the last day there is always a line up
there is no tax on the cruise, this is not an excuse to buy overpriced souvenirs on the cruise but wait till the last sea day you see more discount.
I think that's probably it, and sure i have so much amazing food, never in my life i have a steak in the breakfast and watching sunrise while eating and enjoying the jacuzzi watching the glacier and snow capped mountains, thank you celebrity solstice, what a great experience.
Doing Disney Wonder the first week of June - Vancouver, Stikine Ice Caps, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchican. Just curious about cellphone signal (specifically, T-Mobile) up and down the Inside Passage. I would think that since you are never very far from land there might be service, but here asking those who have been. Thanks!
I’m going on an Alaskan cruise in August and am not sure what to wear. I’ve been to Iceland in August…would I dress about the same? Merino wool under layer, fleece lined leggings, sweatshirts/sweater, a fleece jacket and water proof outer layer, wool socks, waterproof shoes.
Hi everyone,
I have a 6-hour cruise stop in Juneau and plan to rent a car at the pier.
Is it realistic to visit both Mendenhall Glacier and the Shrine of St. Therese in this timeframe? I do not know the exact driving times or how long each stop takes.
If this is too rushed, what closer alternatives would you suggest pairing with the glacier instead?
Thanks for any advice!
I don’t know if this is allowed but I have a favor to ask. I was in Skagway last week and got a National Park date stamp at the Tourist info building. Sadly, it didn’t make it home with me. Would anyone be willing to make another stamp for me for my National Park book? It’s free. There were slips of paper on a table with two different round stamps. One for the Klondike Gold Rush National Park and another for the Chilkoot trail.
I mostly need the Klondike stamp but both would be awesome to have.
If someone can do this, I can send you my address when you get back. I will reimburse for your postage stamp. Thanks so much!
Will be visiting Ketchikan, Sitka and Skagway. Where, if any, are great places to observe sea otters?
Is Uber a thing in Vancouver. Going to spend a day in Vancouver before we come back. Wanted to know the best mode of travel and the best sights in the city
Debating between Seabourn and Regent for Alaska. 5 couples, very active, in our late 50's -Early 60's.Seabourn has two sailings that go to Glacier Bay, while Regent does not. I'm sure we would be happy with either line but for those that have done both, I'd appreciate the feedback.
Flying into Vancouver for 2 nights pre-cruise. Could extend to 3 or 4 nights pre-cruise but don't want vacation exhaustion before we embark. All running within 100/125 dollars a night of each other on Amex FHR. Deluxe Double Fairmont Pacific Rim, Deluxe double Rosewood, One Bedroom Azur. Landing at 6:45 pm first night. It is really just one full day in Vancouver. But convince me to go Earlier. I currently have a really fabulous 4 night stay booked at Fairmont Pacific Rim.
Going on Alaska cruise first week of June with my partner and soon to be in laws. It was decided by the group to not book any eductions in Ketchikan, but rather, to just enjoy the town and walk around. Our cruise ports at 11 am and leaves at 7 pm. Any tips on anything to do while here? Sightseeing, hiking, restaurants, etc?
Going on a cruise in early August and we are doing a fishing excursion. Should I get the Solomon XT6 or OnClouds with Goretex? The reason I initially chose Solomon is bc I have fell into the hype train and I like the style but I went to Scheels and saw some cute OnCloud/Hoka options.
Also, does anyone have a goretex light jacket recommendation? I was looking at Arcteryx but they are pricey, which I don’t mind paying for quality, but I live in Phoenix, AZ and I don’t encounter much rain except for a few annual camping trips or trips up to the White Mountains as that is where my family is from.
Any and all suggestions are welcomed. Thank you!
HELP! I just get a wheel that spins. my photos and documents aren't loading. I'm trying my phone and computer. Why is this such a disaster? it was like this when i sailed in August.
Hello! We are currently in Anchorage boarding a cruise in Whittier tomorrow. I’ve had tickets booked with the Alaskan Railroad doing the Glacier Discovery route for months because so many websites online recommended it for transfer. However, the chat bot in the website just said that the Whittier stop is not a staffed depot and you may not be able to get your checked luggage off the train (we have two carry ons and two larger check bags). Has anyone taken the Alaskan Railroad to get to their cruise and did you have any issues with checked bags? All the shuttles are fully booked and I’m kind of freaking out
UPDATE: The railroad was actually very good about luggage. We dropped off our bags with our cruise tags on them and they transferred it directly to the ship for us (at least for NCL). I’m not sure where their bot got that information. My biggest complaint was our train was two hours late 😭
Also, our NCL port was the newer one at Glacier Creek Terminal. NCL had buses to take us to the pier when we go off the train.
Hi! I’m doing my first ever cruise, and it’s a Carnival Miracle Alaska cruise in July. I was just reading some FB group comments, and I’m now curious as to:
How much is it ok to tip?
(As context; This trip wasn’t my first choice since I wanted something more lowkey budget, but after 2 minutes that we booked, I understood I got bamboozled (by my family members that are the main reason I’m doing this) since I saw how much all the add-ons + excursions cost.
So I just saw someone asking on a group how much cash to bring along, and saw the average (of the people who were commenting) was around the $800-$1000+. So, I just want to understand, other than the prepaid gratuities, how much are workers expecting to be tipped? What is the normal culture of tipping on a (mind you, I consider expensive) cruise? How much are excursion guides expecting to be tipped? I was considering (I’m not sure yet if I’ll be able to do them) to do a helicopter ride to a glacier in Juneau, a railroad in Skagway and a basic bears and totems tour in Ketchikan; so how much are they expecting to be tipped?
Is the norm to be tipping every single worker an 18% of whatever I consume/tour I do? Or are like $5 ok? Also when, who and how much do I tip after the already prepaid gratuities? 😭
My cruise ends in Whittier and my flight out of Anchorage isn’t until 8 pm. I’d love to do one of the kayaking day trips available in Whittier, but I’m not sure how I’d get to the airport afterwards as all of the transfers seem to be in the morning. Would a private car service work? Has anyone done any kind of activity after getting off the ship in Whittier that didn’t already include the airport transfer and make it work? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!