Sanity Check please - First time cruisers (Alaska, Ruby Princess)

I am on the verge of making the final payment on our first ever cruise (gulp!) and I was hoping for a sanity check review of my plans before this not insignificant financial commitment...:eek: Any feedback offered (good points, things to reconsider) would be wonderful and really help me to take this final step! :) (We are keen to see the beautiful Alaskan landscapes, but wow the $$$!)

For background:

• We are an Aussie couple in our thirties who are relatively frequent international travellers. Food and wine are usually the main focus of our holidays.
  
• I do all the research and bookings myself (only had average experiences with TAs in Australia so just became force of habit).
  
• Not adventurous travellers at all - we are the rare Aussies who do not like to swim, surf, kayak, ski, snowboard, zipline, you get the picture! Moderate hiking is fine (we are mobile), we just prefer more passive ways of taking in the sights...
  

So, The Plan:

• 7 day Alaskan cruise on Ruby Princess (Seattle r/t) including Glacier Bay in an Aft balcony cabin, booked directly with Princess, Anytime Dining.
  
  • Only interested in r/t journeys and while Vancouver r/t would have been preferred, only the Seattle r/t fit best into our travel plans.
    
  • Glacier Bay was then the deciding factor in narrowing our choices to either Holland America and Princess, and we thought Princess would be a better fit for our age group (it seems to have more attractive restaurants, activities and overall vibe on board, without being too partylike? we are past the age of clubbing!)
    
  • Aft balconies seemed to get the most votes on all the forums and most sheltered from wind and rain. A little concerned about the noise from the wake but hoping it will be ok.
    
  • Question: Apologies in advance for being vulgar and talking about money but hypothetically speaking ;), would ~USD4400 for the above cruise for two people be generally considered cheap, on par, or ridiculously expensive and out of step for what these cruises 'normally' cost? I realise prices fluctuate, there are all sorts of factors that feed into this kind of thing (we are going in June), and I don't necessarily mind paying a small premium but getting a totally raw deal is another story entirely...
    

Shore excursions (specific tour companies still to be researched) but broadly:

• Juneau (11am to 10pm)
  
  • Lunch on Ship, bus to Mendenhall, walk to Nugget Falls.
    
  • Depending on time, take the Mount Roberts Tramway, aim to have dinner at Tracys Crab Shack.
    
  • Keeping it flexible to walk around town and considering a whale watching tour, maybe in combination with Mendenhall.
    

• Skagway (6am - 8pm)
  
  • Explore the town, walk to Lower Reid Falls
    
  • White Pass Rail.
    
  • Make sure to visit Klondike Doughboy and Skagway Brewing Company.
    
  • Considering a day tour to the Yukon that includes Emerald Lake and then exploring the town afterwards (Skagway Tours).
    

• Ketchikan (7am to 1pm)
  
  • Bering Sea Crab fisherman Tour
    
  • Ketchikan Duck Tour if we have time, otherwise explore the town on our own.
    
  • There also seems to be a lot of fishing tours in ketchikan - are these worth considering?
    

• Victoria (7pm to Midnight)
  
  • Playing this one by ear given time of arrival and a lot of comments on message boards about the lack of time to do anything. Maybe we just have a leisurely dinner either on the ship or in Victoria and that's it.
    

Not sure if I should scale up my shore activities or scale them back? I'm trying not to introduce too much stress or rushing into our holiday, as well as too much extra $ so will be organising privately rather than the ship wherever possible.

Sorry for lengthy post, but I think I just got all excited again about the prospect of this trip!! Thank you in advance for your feedback! :D

Hi

I hope to see some answers too. We are looking at the same cruise for 2018 in May and the cost is around $4500 with taxes and fees. Plus we still need airfare!!! Yes it is very expensive. Once in a lifetime for us.

Enjoy your trip and please post a review!!!

thank you

You can always spend less money by not getting an aft balcony room. I believe that you will find other balconies that do not cost as much. We did a 10 day Alaska cruise last year on NCL and have a 12 day cruisetour planned on Princess in May. We are doing an interior room on this trip and our 12 day costs far less than your 7 day. However, the price you are paying is about what you can expect for your type of accommodation on any of the Alaska cruises. We really liked our only trip on Princess and are looking forward to cruising with them again. And let me recommend the Yukon one day trip from Skagway. We did that last year on our Alaska cruise and it was one of our 2 top excursions. You will have plenty of time to explore Skagway on your own after you return. It is an easily walkable town and not a long walk back to where the ship will be docked.

As far as the cost goes, I'd say what you quoted is probably about average for what you're getting. I have a 9-day cruise in an aft cabin on the NCL Sun but it's not until next year. Just the cruise itself plus the service charges for two is about $6,500USD. With air, a couple hotel nights, hotel/airport transfers, general shopping while in ports plus any excursions the real total will probably be knocking on the door of $10,000USD. If you do take a ride over into the Yukon at Skagway you should consider Dyea Dave - we had a great time with him and since it was a small group we were able to do it with spontaneous stops along the way when something caught our eye. Alaska is great!

Question 1: Was your fare of USD 4400 for an aft balcony on a 7-day RT cruise in June cheap, on par or outrageously expensive?

Answer: You paid somewhat more than we did for a balcony room on HAL, but we are going in late May AND we booked 9 months ago with a discount from our travel agent. So, I'd say you are doing OK. (BTW, some good friends of mine from Australia cruised Alaska last summer on the Ruby Princess and had a fabulous time!)

Question 2: Shore Activities

Answer 2: We figured that we paid enough for this cruise that we don't need to be dropping more $$$ on pricey shore excursions. We enjoy hiking and history and there's plenty of both in these ports. Here are some ideas of things we are thinking of doing which are free or low-cost. (Also, my Australian friends just took things leisurely in the ports rather than booking excursions and seemed to enjoy that.)

Ketchikan

Totem Bight State Historical Park -- Free admission. Take the bus for $1 each way.

Self-guided walking tour -- Free maps and directions are available online or from the visitor's center in port. Takes about 2 hours without stops.

Totem Heritage Center -- Admission $5.00 On the walking tour or just walk 15 minutes from port.

Southeast Alaska Discovery Center -- Admission $5.00 Located 2 blocks from port.

Tom's Port Guides for Ketchikan -- http://www.tomsportguides.com/uploads/5/8/5/4/58547429/ketchikan-02-26-2014.pdf

Married Man's Trail and Schonbar Trail -- Forested walks in town

Rainbird Trail -- Accessible rainforest experience close to town

Waterfront Promenade -- in town

Juneau

We are actually doing a kayaking tour at Mendenhall in the afternoon, but I have some ideas for things we might do in the morning:

Frommer's Self-Guided Walking Tour -- Found it online and it takes 2 - 2.5 hours

St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church

Alaska State Museum -- Admission $12 Recently renovated

Macauley Salmon Hatchery -- Admission $5 which includes a 20-30 minute guided tour. Take City Bus #2 or #3 and walk.

Red Dog Saloon -- Honky tonk atmosphere and good place to try the local Alaskan Amber Ale

Perseverance Trail -- Good, moderate hiking

Skagway

Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park -- Free ranger-led tours. The tours have to be booked in advance and the tickets just became available a few days ago, so you should be able to get some. Tickets are free, but there's a 75-cent booking fee per ticket. See: https://www.recreation.gov/tourParkDetail.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70711

Self-guided walking tour -- Maps available at Visitor's Center

Red Onion Saloon -- Often live entertainment and good place to try local brews

Lower Dewey Lakes Trail -- details on Klondike Gold Rush NP site

Yakatunia Point and Smuggler's Cove - ditto

Gold Rush Cemetery and Lower Reid Falls -- 2 hour easy trail

The price you quoted is definitely reasonable for a balcony on that cruise. We are doing the same one this May.

As far as your tours go, they sound fun, but I wouldn't add to them. It looks like you'll have full days! The stop in Ketchikan isn't a long day, either. We will be there from 7am to 1pm. We decided not to do a tour and just explore the town.

We are taking the train in Skagway, too. Then just exploring the town a little. Both Skagway and Ketchikan have walking tour maps on their websites.

In Juneau, we plan to take the shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier and do one of the shorter hikes. We also reserved the Taste of Juneau Walking Tour, which looks like so much fun. I think it might be new this year because I haven't found anyone who has taken it yet. I plan to post about it when we get back.

Victoria is a beautiful city and it might be worth just taking a little stroll.

If you can afford it, I would recommend trying to spend an extra day or two in Seattle. I'm a little biased, but it is a great city and I think you would love seeing some of it.

I love Princess. They are the only cruise line I've been on, so again, I'm a little biased. My parents are Elite on Princess and they absolutely love all the ships in the line. It is a little less of a party ship than some other lines, but you will find plenty of activities to occupy your free time. Or plenty of places to quietly relax.

Overall, you can't beat Alaska for just pure beauty. You could spend every day sitting on your balcony and have an amazing time.

I hadn't heard of Klondike Doughboy, so I had to google it. It's now on my list of places to go! =)

Welcome to Cruise Critic. You will find lots of cruise planning help here.

Although I have cruised only on HAL for my many Alaskan cruises, I am a lover of aft balcony staterooms. The sound of the wake is very soothing for sleeping. Being out of the wind, you can dine on your veranda while the ship is moving and others cannot.

Juneau: Definitely a whale watching tour then Mt Roberts

Ketchikan: Crab Fishing Tour is great. When the boat stops to feed the eagles, have your camera and fast shutter speed selected with the potential of hundreds of photographs of the swooping eagles. If possible, take the steps up to the second level for a better view. Make sure you stop at the Tongass Trading Company at the pier for any souvenirs. Fishing tours are fun but what will you do with what you catch??

Skagway: A drive to the Yukon with a private vendor will let you stop many times for photographs. Combine with a train ride back (sit on the right side of the train for the best views). This will take most of your time in Skagway. Take a short walk to town when you return and make sure to stop at the Alaska Fudge Company for the best fudge in the world.

Victoria: A horse-drawn carriage ride to downtown might be a nice touch. There is almost always a delay disembarking in Victoria due to Canadian Customs clearing the ship in a timely manner so planning much more might be difficult.

Enjoy your cruise planning. Note that most people who visit Alaska will definitely return.

Wow thanks all for your feedback! :D

Comforting to know the price is in reasonable/normal ranges - that's all I was after in confirming! I know we could have saved some money on an inside or oceanview cabin, but I'm a greedy traveller (this conflicts a lot with the desire to save $$ :'))

The more I research, the more convinced I become to do the Yukon day trip (thanks bunny1954 and SuperCrewBear, I will have a look at Dyea Dave)

GradUT - I had actually listed Red Dog and Red Onion Saloons respectively in my wish list but I had to cull that a bit when I realised I was (as per usual) going to be visiting more food/wine places than scenic ones! :') (I'm thinking Alaska should be a trip where my landscape photos outnumber my food ones? :confused:) I definitely have those places as stops if we have time.

Ckb104 - The 'relaxing on the balcony plan' is definitely key for us! I was actually going to do the Taste of Juneau tour originally - but then...see above comments :') Still on my 'backup list' though so look forward to your review! (PS we are spending a number of days in Seattle pre-cruise and very much looking forward to that too!)

Crew News - the possibility of dining on the balcony out of the wind was one of the deciding factors! We were thinking of doing the Ultimate Balcony Dining on the Glacier Bay day, since we figured we'd have the bay in our view as we leave...

Thanks again all - I'm feeling a lot better and now I"m off to secure that cabin!! :D

Wow, can't believe the price of a balcony, esp an aft !! I could get an inside cabin and spend 2 weeks touring around Alaska in a rental RV. But we all have different travel styles and priorities.

Your port time in Ketchikan is too short for a meaningful fishing trip. Pick up a map for self guided walking tour .... boardwalks, Married Mans Trail, totems. I think there's a map and maybe a Visitors Guide in the town web site. Look in the HELPFUL RESOURCES thread for that web site. Maybe www.experienceketchikan.com If you're off the boat early enough you'll hve time for the Ducks after wandering around town.

Skagway ... the combo of train/bus would give you the best of both worlds. Look in past trip reports for first hand vendor recommendations, and some great photos of stopping points during the tour.

Victoria --- the Inner Harbor is lovely and photogenic. About a 20 minute walk from the cruise pier. About halfway there is Fishermans Wharf ....otters, seals, floating homes, restaurants and its a working harbor.

http://fishermanswharfvictoria.com/

Have a fantastic time!

Aft balconies seemed to get the most votes on all the forums and most sheltered from wind and rain. A little concerned about the noise from the wake but hoping it will be ok.

You're paying a bit more than we did, but you will really love that aft balcony. Worth every penny in my mind. For me it's not so much about the shelter but the view. I spend a lot of time on my balcony - basically any downtime when we're not out and about and not getting ready to be out and about. And I love the sound of the wake. I bet you will, too.:D

 

 

7 day Alaskan cruise on Ruby Princess (Seattle r/t) including Glacier Bay in an Aft balcony cabin, booked directly with Princess, Anytime Dining.

• 
  
  • Question: Apologies in advance for being vulgar and talking about money but hypothetically speaking ;), would ~USD4400 for the above cruise for two people be generally considered cheap, on par, or ridiculously expensive and out of step for what these cruises 'normally' cost?
    

My answers keep getting cut off...

The rest of my answer is:

to $1800 for balconies

We, too, have booked an aft balcony for our first Alaska cruise in June. For me, the balcony is part of the experience. Knowing that I can use it at any time, day or night, and if it is rainy, is worth the extra cost.

Thanks TheCalicoCat and CATGUY7, portiemom and Mapleleaves for your comments, they're all so helpful and go a long way to reassuring me about our choices as well as getting me excited for the trip! :D

I figured there would be a premium for an aft balcony in particular (I think Princess calls it a premium balcony cabin too?) I also noticed a few other lines had cheaper options as well but I'm wondering if the itinerary factors into the pricing. Whenever I got drawn in by a comparatively cheap deal or sale, it was for an itinerary I wasn't keen on (no glacier bay) or for a 'guaranteed cabin' only. So I'm happy to pay a bit extra to get to glacier bay and to choose our cabin - I don't like leaving things to chance too much on our holidays!

Also - touring around alaska in an RV sounds amazing too! And who knows, maybe once we get a feel for the region, we could be back and planning further trips with the benefit of experience! ;)

I am getting really excited too. I hope you have a wonderful trip, and that you'll report back with your experiences. Reviews are always so much fun to read!

A balcony cabin is nice for Alaska and I think you would really like a Princess cruise. It's the full wall of windows that is really nice (you can lie on the bed and watch scenery go by). It is also handy when the captain comes on the PA saying there are whales on the port side, etc. or bear sighting on starboard .... with an aft, you can see both sides.

On our last Alaska cruise, we were on a budget for the shore excursions, so we only booked one - whale watching in Juneau, and we still had time to take the bus to Mendenhall Glacier. The hike to Nugget falls in the deciduous rain forest was beautiful.

In Ketchikan we just walked around town and took in the scenery. There are inexpensive tours sold at the pier.... wait and see what your weather is like.

In Skagway we rented a car and had a great day.

Here are some photos from my blog ...that might inspire you :D.

http://maryandnormtravel.blogspot.ca/2014/09/alaska-cruise-and-tour-july-2014-part-1.html

I just got done pricing our 7 night RCI SB June 2018 cruise, including a guestimate of airfare/hotel. We are doing one night at nice hotel in Vancouver and Anchorage, and nonstop flights from Mn. With excursions, drink packages, the tips RCI builds into your bill, nicer balcony, it is $9000 US. This does not include other tips, non-ship meals, and souvenirs.

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Hi

I hope to see some answers too. We are looking at the same cruise for 2018 in May and the cost is around $4500 with taxes and fees. Plus we still need airfare!!! Yes it is very expensive. Once in a lifetime for us.

Enjoy your trip and please post a review!!!

thank you

Also cruising to Alaska May 2018 but doing a one-way from Vancouver and then on-our-own land tour to Denali. Once in a lifetime for us too, and already excited!

I also think your pricing looks reasonable for an aft balcony. Just as an aside, Norwegian also visits Glacier Bay (which is what we're doing). Unfortunately my kiddos want to go dog sledding on the glacier so I've had to set aside extra funds for that rather expensive excursion.

Can't comment on the price as our Alaska Cruise was 11 years ago. Regarding the tours, I'd say definitely do a whale watching tour in Juneau - we went with Orca Tours/ Captain Larry. We booked it independently online. It was great, saw humpback whales very close up. The White Pass rail trip in Skagway was great and, although you can go independently, it's probably better to book it through the ship, as they may well have booked all the seats, so it may be difficult or impossible to get seats yourself.

In other ports, it's worth doing a bit of searching on the internet for private tours, they're usually cheaper and smaller groups than ship's tours.

Once you've booked your cruise, it's well worth joining the Cruise Critic roll call for it. You may well find that others on the roll call are looking for others to join private tours they are organising.

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We also just booked a cruise on Princess for June 9, 2018. Aft balcony - $5100.00 OUCH!!!! didn't even do airfare or excursions. I'm hoping this goes on sale !!!

Anyone recommend a hotel in Seattle for one night - originally was going to stay a few nights but this trip is just too expensive for a more days in Seattle.

Thank

We also just booked a cruise on Princess for June 9, 2018. Aft balcony - $5100.00 OUCH!!!! didn't even do airfare or excursions. I'm hoping this goes on sale !!!

Anyone recommend a hotel in Seattle for one night - originally was going to stay a few nights but this trip is just too expensive for a more days in Seattle.

Thank

Alaska is very expensive these days because so many people are not going to Europe. I would Princeline a hotel near SeaTac-very favorable rates.

I'll check that out. Thank you

Thanks everyone for the additional info - good to know I'm not the only one who was a bit shocked at the prices! It's probably a good thing you have to pay in advance, hopefully by the time the cruise rolls around, I'd have (mostly) forgotten about it and will be ready to enjoy and relax :D

We used priceline in 2015 for a downtown Seattle hotel and got the Warwick. A bit more expensive than I wanted but the location was great and the accommodations were good as well. Would definitely stay there again.

Walked to Space Needle and Public Market. IMO, location made extra cost worthwhile.

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