Sort of B2B shore excursion question

We are booked on the Navigator 14 day Alaska Vancouver to Vancouver cruise, departing May 20th. This cruise can also be booked as 2 7-day cruises (Vancouver to Anchorage and back), then being a 1-way trip. We booked it as a 14 day cruise however, not as a B2B.

We noted that for all ports of call the shore excursions are in the system and can be booked, except for Anchorage (Seward). For that port, no excursions have been put into the system.

Is it your expectation that shore excursions will be added to this port, or should we start looking to make plans of our own.

Thanks

We are booked on the Navigator 14 day Alaska Vancouver to Vancouver cruise, departing May 20th. This cruise can also be booked as 2 7-day cruises (Vancouver to Anchorage and back), then being a 1-way trip. We booked it as a 14 day cruise however, not as a B2B.

 

We noted that for all ports of call the shore excursions are in the system and can be booked, except for Anchorage (Seward). For that port, no excursions have been put into the system.

 

Is it your expectation that shore excursions will be added to this port, or should we start looking to make plans of our own.

 

Thanks

We did 2 weeks on the Navigator this past June. In Seward, no excursions were offered. The reason was given that there were too few guests remaining to make it worth the effort. Plus, Anchorage is 2 hours away by bus, so it would be a long day.

We did 2 weeks on the Navigator this past June. In Seward, no excursions were offered. The reason was given that there were too few guests remaining to make it worth the effort. Plus, Anchorage is 2 hours away by bus, so it would be a long day.

Thanks for the info. What did you end up doing? Or what would you recommend to do.

We were looking forward to a Kenai Fjords cruise that is mentioned in the general port information on the Regent site.

The odd thing is, if you select the cruise we are on, and then click on Anchorage in the itinerary table, it shows 3 shore excursions.

Seward is an interesting town to wander through. A very good sea life museum with "behind the scenes" tours is in town. A receding glacier is nearby that dramatically illustrates global warming. If you rent a car, there is a fabulous animal rescue facility half-way to Anchorage. If the Kenai cruise also goes to Homer, that would be a good option as Homer is a very interesting place for a short visit.

Seward is an interesting town to wander through. A very good sea life museum with "behind the scenes" tours is in town. A receding glacier is nearby that dramatically illustrates global warming. If you rent a car, there is a fabulous animal rescue facility half-way to Anchorage. If the Kenai cruise also goes to Homer, that would be a good option as Homer is a very interesting place for a short visit.

A Kenai Fjords small-boat trip is a great way to see the fjords. We did one that included an excellent salmon cook-out on one of the small islands. Then in and out of many little fjords. Saw an amazing sight: A bald eagle swimming in the fjord while clutching in talons his catch--a fat, juicy salmon-- to shore, where it was shared with two large black birds.

Wonderful stuff. Find a way to see the fjords.

We are booked on the Navigator 14 day Alaska Vancouver to Vancouver cruise, departing May 20th. This cruise can also be booked as 2 7-day cruises (Vancouver to Anchorage and back), then being a 1-way trip. We booked it as a 14 day cruise however, not as a B2B.

 

We noted that for all ports of call the shore excursions are in the system and can be booked, except for Anchorage (Seward). For that port, no excursions have been put into the system.

 

Is it your expectation that shore excursions will be added to this port, or should we start looking to make plans of our own.

 

Thanks

I think you will have Regent excursions available for Seward but not until you get on the Navigator. Seward is the turnaround port for the two seven-night cruises that comprise your 14-night cruise. Excursions in a turnaround port are only available to continuing passengers and will be set up onboard.

While usually there are no excursions in Seward for continuing passengers, that is because there are so few of them. Very few people book back-to-back Alaska cruises because the northbound and southbound cruises visit identical ports and few people want to duplicate their first segment on their second segment.

However, your cruise is different. The two seven-night segments that make up your 14-night cruise are unique in that they each visit different ports. Since Regent is also selling your cruise as a single 14-night cruise, I expect many more passengers than normal will be continuing passengers in Seward. I think Regent will have excursions in Seward because it will want to get as many of you as possible off the ship so you don't get in the way while the crew prepares the ship for the next seven-nights. :D

Hope this helps.

We just booked the 14 day Vancouver-Vancouver cruise for May 2016. It has 3 excursions listed for Seward. One is going to the glacier and the sea life center. One is a boat trip. The other is going up the kenai peninsula to alyeska.

Thank you all for your answers, I think we will wait and until we board the ship, unless we find an excursion we can't pass up.

Rachel: our cruise also lists 3 shore excursions in the cruise overview, but none showed up in the online booking tool that opened 240 days before the cruise.

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Thank you all for your answers, I think we will wait and until we board the ship, unless we find an excursion we can't pass up.

 

Rachel: our cruise also lists 3 shore excursions in the cruise overview, but none showed up in the online booking tool that opened 240 days before the cruise.

 

 

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I suspect they will be available to book once you get onboard. If they aren't, it is really easy to go to the Sealife Center on your own.

I suspect they will be available to book once you get onboard. If they aren't, it is really easy to go to the Sealife Center on your own.

Let's hope so, we were looking forward to a Kenai fjord cruise.

I bet one will be offered, but if not, I is easy to book one on the spot right there in the harbor.

That cruise is so tempting...

That cruise is so tempting...

Then why not join us..........

I bet one will be offered, but if not, I is easy to book one on the spot right there in the harbor.

Thanks.

Been looking on the internet quickly and it seems this type of trips is offered a lot on Seward. And they claim to be back in the harbor by 5.30PM so that should work (ship leaves at 6PM) although 30 minutes feels as cutting it close.

The waters may be choppy that early in the season; I wouldn't want to be scheduled later than 4 unless the boat was a Regent excursion. Also,you will probably have to get through the town from the small boat harbor to the cruise dock and you are due back on Regent at least a 1/2 hour before departure time.

Mmm, hadn't thought about that. Then we should find something that leaves in the morning and is back with plenty of time to spare.

Wendy, please join us.

Would love nothing better. Springs are problematic for us right now, so I'll have to wait and see.

Mmm, hadn't thought about that. Then we should find something that leaves in the morning and is back with plenty of time to spare.

One of the most horrible, pit in your stomach feeling is when one is out on their own excursion and for whatever reason, there is some type of delay getting back to the ship and the clock keeps ticking and that minute hand is moving faster and faster. It happened to me once (not a Regent voyage). My friends and I had arranged our own tour guide in the Falkland Islands and we had made arrangements to return one hour before the scheduled time. While we were out exploring, our tour guide had a heart attack. Long story short, we made it back to the ship literally as the stairs were being removed. Our passports had already been removed and provided to the land agent.

Lesson learned - always be prepared for the unexpected and never schedule activities that does not leave some "unexpected emergency" time.

gnomie :)

Mmm, we have never been that close thankfully and were not planning on getting there.

We have seen people miss the ship though (not on Regent, on HAL).

post #12: +1

R and W: May we join you? (Oh, yes, I still lurk and dream.)

Hello, Poss

I too am lurking right now. Best to you.

Thanks for the hello, Patti. If you and Hizzoner are still healthy and able, here's a gentle urge from me to Carpe Diem.

My dear one has had a slew of medical bad luck, perhaps (though not positively) making it not a good idea for us to cruise. Actually, we'd wanted to try a short Caribbean cruise in January, since it'd not entail flying for us. The large (and growing) number of cases of chikungunya on all the islands gave me pause. The virus is wicked, maybe even worse than dengue (of which a friend of mine in St John actually died several years ago). Of course our state of Florida now has 11 "homegrown" cases, but not much we can do about that. Many Floridians are concerned about what things will be like when the whole cruise season gets going, i.e. lots of back-and-forthing from Ft Lauderdale and Miami. Lordie, what next? Carpe Diem!

Poss, please do join us. We are on the May 2016 sailing. The big advantage is that it is round trip from Vancouver.

Thanks for the hello, Patti. If you and Hizzoner are still healthy and able, here's a gentle urge from me to Carpe Diem.

My dear one has had a slew of medical bad luck, perhaps (though not positively) making it not a good idea for us to cruise. Actually, we'd wanted to try a short Caribbean cruise in January, since it'd not entail flying for us. The large (and growing) number of cases of chikungunya on all the islands gave me pause. The virus is wicked, maybe even worse than dengue (of which a friend of mine in St John actually died several years ago). Of course our state of Florida now has 11 "homegrown" cases, but not much we can do about that. Many Floridians are concerned about what things will be like when the whole cruise season gets going, i.e. lots of back-and-forthing from Ft Lauderdale and Miami. Lordie, what next? Carpe Diem!

The heck with 2016 -- why not go to the Caribbean this year? We are on the Riviera at the end of next month (Miami to Miami -- but it goes down to Venezuela, Aruba, etc.) It may touch on the part of the Caribbean that has chikungunya but we purchased a product that repels the mosquito. Besides, we will be on the ship (inside) when mosquitos are active. Oceania has much better prices than Regent -- the ship is gorgeous and the people are very friendly. Just look it up on their website.

Note: Although we selected Oceania over Regent for the Caribbean, we still prefer Regent for everything else.