Jeremiah On a Cruise

I'd say that there are four general options: A travel agent with a discount broker will typically be able to get you a discount on the posted rate. However, their service is typically polite but limited to booking - they are unlikely to provide much support beyond that. I recommend that you know exactly what you want, including dates and staterooms, if going this option. A travel agent with a customer-focused broker will typically match the cruise line's price, but will provide excellent service, and help locating (or even booking) excursions, talking through different cruise lines, different ships, destinations, options, rebooking, etc. Note that a travel agent who doesn't provide a discount, and doesn't provide these services, should be fired IMO. Booking through a travel agent at the cruise line will typically match the posted price, but will provide excellent service on the cruise. I've found these agents top-notch at getting difficult to find staterooms, preferred dining times, and things like that. They also have access to some unique discounts that may not be available via other paths (e.g. casino rates). However, they typically charge full price, and are obviously limited to a single cruise line. Booking directly remains an option that some love. Here, the traveler will pay full price, but may have more control over their booking. If you want control and don't mind paying full price, this is a great option. Note that this is the only option I haven't used, but I know people who swear by this approach. Hope that helps.

I've made the executive decision to not fret about cruise ship apps. Several lines have killer ideas with great functionality, but none of them are working as intended yet, and all are working through major issues. Until those are ironed out, I'll stick with paper, and spend my gray hairs other places.

Sorry - different splash park. There looks to be a smaller splash park just about 1500 ft west of Canada Place, near what looks to be a small park. It's not nearly as nice as the park you mentioned, but we'd feel better staying walking distance from the pier.

ooOOOOhh! My family loves loves loves Soar'n, and I didn't know that there was anything like it outside of Disneyland. We will definitely try and do this!!!

@martincath and @Northern Aurora Thanks again for this. I think we have our plans finalized: Will leave Everett around 7A and get across the boarder around 8:30 or 9:00. We'll cross at Lynden as my boys really really hate the chaos, crowds, and lines of the I5 crossings. We will get to the pier around 10:00, and park in Canada Place (parking already purchased) and drop off our bags at that time, but will not start checking in just yet. We will then spend the next few hours walking around the waterfront in Vancouver. We'll hit the Chat Time (bubble tea) first, and then west walk along the Sea Wall Water Walk, grabbing lunch somewhere (Cactus Club Cafe?) and probably spending some time at Spray Park. But, we'll stay within about a 15 minute walk from the pier. We will target being back to the pier at 1:30. Our boarding pass says that we must be onboard by 3P, so we'll start fretting if we aren't in line by 2:00. Hopefully, 1:30 will be early enough to have plenty of wiggle room/not be worried, but late enough to miss most of the rush, and to meet our luggage in our prepared room.

We've only sailed with our kids on Princess, but found their kids club very good. Actually, we have sailed on several lines with our kids, and found most of the at sea kids clubs outstanding. Our kids, who are around the ages of your kids, loved them. Though, none of these will be quite the level of Disney, which is clearly a step up. However, I would not call any of these programs educational. RC has an amazing reputation for kids, and will probably have more families than the other options. Their sweet spot is probably 12-18, though they will definitely cater to, and offer good services for a 6-11 year old. We've tried to book them several times, but don't love her itineraries and found their rates for a good cabin too high, and spent a similar amount on a more premium line. This will be the most lively of the options listed. I can't speak to the Encore as I've never cruised on her, nor seriously researched her. Another option is the Celebrity Eclipse. If you're open to leaving from Vancouver, the Celebrity Eclipse has a great itinerary, and is actually my kids' favorite ship. Frankly, it may be my favorite ship as well... Some, but not too may kids. Adult focused but do a great job catering to kids. Fancy but comfortable. She will be slightly older than the other cruise options, but is a great ship with ideal connecting cabins.

@martincath Wow! First - a huge thank you. Lots of info here that I didn't know. We are there July 29 - the same day as the Grand. There are two other ships in port that day, including the Ocean Victory (very small) and the Nature (arriving much later). We will be coming from Everett on the day of the cruise. It's a Saturday so we don't anticipate much traffic until the boarder. We plan to pass a Lynden to avoid the crowds, but are open to Sumas if you think that's better. We avoid crossing on I5 whenever possible. With that said, props for referencing Nehalem - that's my old stomping grounds and one of my favorite little towns in WA. I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't know the 2:30 deadline. We typically board super early, but are traveling with kids, so our priorities are different this go. Do you think checkin at 1:30 will have a quicker time boarding than a checkin of 10 or 11? If 2:30 is the hard stop, 1:30 is as late as I would want to plan for. But, if the wait is 90-120 minutes regardless of when I check in, it may be worth it to board early and have lunch onboard. Again - thanks!

We will board the Konnsingdam in a few weeks (YAHHOOOO!!!) with a scheduled departure time of 4:30. We will be driving to the pier and already have parking reserved at Canada Place. We will have a ~3 hour drive from WA state, but can get there as early as 10A or 11A without issue. We are pretty worried about long waits at the pier, and are trying to plan the day to avoid the rush and lines. We hope to plan the day around getting through parking lines, check-in, security, and customs as quick as we can. We aren't in a huge rush to get on board, and are open to walking around the city for a few hours, or spending some money to be entertained if you have any suggestions. We have a few general options and welcome your thoughts: Park at 10A and check in ASAP. Park at noon and check in ASAP. Park at 2P and check in ASAP (is this cutting it too close?) Park at 11A, drop off the luggage, and walk around the city for a few hours. Check in around 3:00P. Other options. I welcome your thoughts.

My view on excursion tipping: Only around half of the people tip on group excursions, with 15+ people. I'd consider this truly optional. If you choose to tip, $5 - $10 per person is in the normal realm, with $20 per person being very generous. Personally, we tip $0 to $20 based entirely on service, with $10/pp being the norm. On smaller, more private excursions, I would say that it's very different. If you've chartered a tour guide, or boat, or something, I would say that tipping is the norm and expectation. The tipping amount also increases; I'd say 5% of the excursion cost is on the low end, around 10%-15% is probably standard. I've gone as high as 25% on these, but that was a special circumstance (four person boat, overly generous captain, lifetime experience, etc.). If you're looking for a guideline, I'd say 10% is a good starting point. But, neither of these are hard-and-fast rules. For example, we do a flight/bear watching excursion that is $400/person, and includes both a flight and walking portion. I don't think I've ever tipped a pilot (I actually worry that it would be insulting), but I'm not going to tip the walking guide $40/per person (~10% of the cost). As a final note, I'd highlight that tipping on excursions is different in the US than tipping on food, drinks, housekeeping, etc. where tipping is the norm and is expected.

You, my friend, just made my day :).

@visagrunt Loving your reviews! Do you know if the northbound portion of the trip went on the East or West side of Vancouver island? All of the maps show the trip on the East/inside passage side, but I've read reports from others that earlier trips this year on the Kon. went on the west side of the island (i.e. into the open ocean). Again, thank you.

Wow - this is amazing! I also love your idea of booking both the train and the bikes for the trip down, knowing that you'll simply overpay and not use one of the two. Money isn't the big concern here - an awful experience is 🙂 Anyhow, just wanted to say thanks,

Great info! Outside of the first 30 minutes that can be walked, would the trail be OK for kids? Ours are ages 9 and 11. Both can ride a bike, but would struggle with even modest climbs, and neither has done anything resembling mountain biking. I've love your thoughts or additional details.

Thanks for the info. How does seating the Club Orange section work on P ships? Are there reserved times like in the MDR? Or, is it open without reservations like Blu on Celebrity or Club Class on Princess?

FYI - we did the Majestic (a sister to the Discover) to Cabo in the Spring, had to take the water shuttle to shore there, and had a 2 hour wait for the shuttle off the ship. I'm not sure if that's a function of the port, the class of ship, dumb luck, or some combination of those - but I wanted to give you a heads-up as you plan the day.