Aegis1984

Everything depends on your interests of course. If you are into scenery, definitely check out the White Pass and Yukon expedition in Skagway. On HAL, it costs $200 and takes you all the way into Carcross in the Yukon, and brings you back on the train for all kinds of scenery.

Ketchikan is very small, in regards to the touristy stuff and it is also the southernmost port you will visit in Alaska. As a crow flies, it is about 100 miles away from Prince Rupert, BC and can get very rainy so pack an umbrella/raincoat, but if you're at all able-bodied, you could easily walk from dock 4 to dock 1 in 10 minutes or less at a slow pace, stopping to look at things along the way.

Same goes for Skagway. Think 3 parallel streets, 10 short blocks, not big city blocks.

If your itinerary goes into Glacier Bay, I'd say skip Tracy Arm. HAL wants $250 per person and although you get much closer to the glaciers on a much smaller boat, you'll see pretty much the exact same thing in Glacier Bay.

I would strongly recommend booking through the ship, rather than locally. If there is an issue, it is on the cruise line to ensure you are back on the ship regardless of any delay. If you book locally, you're catching the next flight to your next port.

They're definitely missing a couple from the BC side of things

Kwakwaka'wakw = Kwa-gyou-tull

Skidegate = Skid-ih-git

Pouce Coupe = Poo-Scoo-Pee

Quesnel = Kwe-Nell

Sechelt = Sea-Shelt

Ucluelet = You-Clue-Let

Osoyoos = Oh-Sue-youse

Esquimalt = Ess-Kweye-malt

Lax Kw'alaams = Lahk-Wah-Lambs

Gingolx = Kin-Kohl-Lith

Make sure you inspect the slippers when you get them. I had a massage booked and they clearly thought I was anything but a dancer, because they gave me two left feet. The poor girl at the spa clearly did not have a full grasp of english idioms and phrases because I had to spell out to her that I was missing a right-foot slipper.

Sailing for Alaska on the ms Westerdam in a few months with my folks & girlfriend. It's not my first cruise, but it's the first I've been on with multiple "At Sea" days. I'm sure they'll do a good job of giving us things to do, but I have no idea what and I like to plan ahead.

 

After hauling luggage and dealing with the stress of traveling with my family, I think my girlfriend would enjoy a massage to help get into the cruising spirit. (And if she gets one, you can bet I'm getting one!) Our whole first day is at sea, so that seems like an ideal time. Do I book the spa now, or wait until we're on board so I know what activities will be going on that day? If I book in advance, can I reschedule on board or is there a penalty?

It's better to look at sea days. The chances of missing something earth-shattering are slim-to-none. Mostly, you'll be looking at cooking demos, drinks for discounted prices, etc.

As for a massage, it's your call entirely. I went on an Alaskan cruise in 2013 and had the misfortune of sleeping on the sofa-bed as I unfortunately was the 3rd guest sharing a room with my parents. I had a massage on the first sea day and that loosened me up, but the bed I was sleeping on made things just terrible for me. My back was aching for the remainder of the 7 day cruise, and that was saying something given I was 28 with history no back problems.

Perhaps the actual beds are better.

The salmon won't be running with any number until August

There was a fellow on my first Alaska cruise named Dan Bennett. He was pretty entertaining and one of the better comedian/juggler/whatever else I've seen on and off of cruise ships.

We had the same illusionist on the Alaska cruise as Panama Canal Sunfarer, James Cielan. He did what he was supposed to, but my personal feeling is they really tried pushing his 'resume', 'experience' and 'credentials' far too much. On that same Panama canal cruise, there was a Nashville guitarist and his wife who sung country (strike 1 in my book) and came off as insincere and uppity while performing but pretty down-to-earth in elevator talk.

Prepare for rain but be excited if it isn't. It is known as the wettest town in Canada for a reason. Surprisingly, every time I have gone, it has been clear and sunny. Go figure.

Having lived on the 'Wet' coast of North America my whole life, I will chime in to help.

We have an adage that will provide some insight. "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes." We prepare for anything and dress accordingly. When they say dress in layers, they mean it.

Depending on the time of year, you will definitely want to have a waterproof jacket. Pick something lightweight without a lining if you are going in June/July. That way, you can have it fill double duty. Bring along a fleece jacket or hoodie. You can layer a T-shirt underneath your fleece, underneath your waterproof jacket and not be uncomfortable.

As for temperature being different, they call it a dry cold and a wet cold. When I lived in Whitehorse, it was not a very humid area and was what was known as a dry cold. The moisture in the air affects how you react to it, so if you are used to a very dry climate, you will be more at home with a dry cold. The same goes for when I lived in Terrace/Prince Rupert, where it was a wet cold. It is miserable and chills you to the bone because the moisture clings to every surface even if you do not notice it. Alaska will be a wet cold.

The other phenomenon of the 'Wet' coast is Prince Rupert rain. Normal rain falls down vertically. Prince Rupert rain falls horizontally and EVERYTHING gets wet. Prince Rupert is known for the least sunny days per year in Canada, much like Ketchikan. Don't believe me? Here you go:

If you're on a 7 day cruise, my recommendations would be 7 day-wear short or long sleeved shirts, 1-2 hoodies/sweaters, 1 fleece jacket, 1 waterproof rain jacket/windbreaker without liner.

When we went on our Panama canal sunfarer in 2014, we stayed at the Ramada, in part because of the free shuttle from the airport to hotel and from the hotel to Port Everglades. It was okay. Definitely not 5 star accommodation by any means but it was comfortable, clean enough and had HBO so we could watch the season premiere of Game of Thrones.

When we got there in the morning, we had to wait about an hour for our room to be ready so we could recover from the red eye from Vancouver to Toronto, then the rush to get to the flight to FLL.

It was a $20 cab ride to the Old Heidelberg restaurant, if I'm not mistaken.

It met our needs for a reasonable price. Note to self though, Americans call it Sweet Tea, when we Canucks know it as Iced Tea. I made that mistake in the bar.

Something I haven't seen anyone mention is smoked salmon.

I wouldn't really call that a souvenir, being edible and all, and for we British Columbians, all we need to do is simply go to the nearest river, drop a line and follow the process.

But to others, I guess one could call pacific smoked salmon such a thing

In Juneau, I picked up an ulu and cutting board set for around $50 from Alaska Knife Works. It is absolutely fantastic. It works like a charm and is razor sharp. Whenever I cook, I prefer using it to my fancy knife set I bought a few years back, obviously for certain functions. For chopping vegetables, I absolutely love it.

In my experience, when saying a feature has an iPod dock, it'll likely be a USB port, especially with the change from the 30 pin to the lightning connector. Bring your cable just in case.

Thanks for the replies folks.

I know there's the concern about paying the Canon weight tax but since I'm from BC, all I need to do is make the drive to Vancouver, and I won't have to pay luggage fees.

Good call on the timer remote, but I suppose I'll have to pack a tripod too. My reasoning behind a GoPro was that I could put it in a housing with a handlebar clamp, attach it to the railing, set it to take photos when I feel so inclined, and forget about it. Although I know I'm not so careless with my kit, if I left it, I would rather leave a GoPro than leave a couple thousand dollars worth of camera gear sitting on the balcony.

My last trip, I found that I did make use of my 15-85 outdoors on the wide end, but I was using my 24-70 indoors plenty because of the f2.8 throughout the range.

By the same token, have you heard anything about the 10-18? I know it is cheap as lenses go and pretty slow, but the IS is appealing and there were times I found 15mm was just barely not wide enough on those APS-C bodies. I'm sure it'll be bright enough for me to be shooting at f8 or f11 most of the time, but there's plenty to shoot indoors too, especially if we end up in some of the museums.

Hi folks,

I'm going to be going back up to Alaska in August aboard HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam, and this time around, we have a SY category suite located on the port side at the hump of the ship, so we get a fantastic over-sized balcony.

Now, that's great and all but I'm hoping for some help with deciding which gear to bring with me, and which new acquisitions to make prior to the trip.

I currently have the following:

Canon 7D

Canon 7D mkII

Canon 15-85 f3.5-5.6

Canon 24-70 f2.8 II

Canon 40mm f2.8

Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS II

TC-80N3 remote

600EX-RT Flash

In my future, I am eyeing up a Canon 2.0 teleconverter and either the 10-22 APS-C lens or the 11-24 f4 with the idea I will be switching to full frame in the next year. I am WELL aware of the vast price difference between the wide angles, and my current situation with my employer will dictate which I go for, in that they promote/transfer me (Buy house/rent with 1st/last months paid), or leave me where I am for a few more months. I am also looking at picking up a Go-Pro to mount on the balcony for time lapse shots but that isn't my be-all, end-all.

The way I see it, I know I'm bringing both bodies in order to avoid time-eating lens changes, and I want to have either of the wide-angle zooms, the 24-70 and the 70-200 with TC for that extra reach.

Would anyone have any thoughts/advice on my selections, or recommendations for my gear?

I wouldn't take the downsell myself, mind you, I've been on the same itinerary with an inside cabin so I know what that was like. I have full intentions to do plenty of photography between having a GoPro running constantly, to having my 2 DSLRs ready to go with a wide angle and telephoto zoom.

I made a point of specifically booking SY7080 on the NADM, and I know for a fact that the signature suites are sold out as of right now for the August 27th voyage. The only way they're getting me out of that room is by free upgrade AND a significant chunk of OBC.

I am wondering why being male makes it different though?

Your guess is as good as mine. Try being male and in your late 20s. That's the boat I was in when I had my experience with the singles and solos meet. I actually told myself I would never do another cruise solo again, so thankfully my girlfriend was more than happy to oblige when I gave her travel documents for her birthday this year.

There are other animals you need to watch out for, but you will probably only see them on the ship.

They are the Angry Buffet diners on the cruise ship, who will bark and scream at you if you take the piece of bacon they wanted. There is also one that preys on young bucks like myself, the Pacific Cougar, who frequently hangs out at bars and dance clubs and won't take no for an answer.

Yes, it's the casino. My folks would argue that the slots are their version of video games that they 'could actually get something out of'.

On the last cruise I was on (11 day Panama canal sunfarer in April 2014 aboard the Zuiderdam), I went to one or two of the singles/solos meets. The gal who hosted them (I think her name was Courtney) was about my age but out of the 3 or 4 others who attended, I was definitely 40-50 years their junior.

Further, there was a singles/solos luncheon and I was the only one who showed up.

After that, it definitely was not my cup of tea.

Thank goodness 2 weeks after I disembarked that cruise, I met the love of my life, so I won't have to go through that again in August.

It appears to have changed since I last looked about 2 weeks ago. NADM was set to be in the AJ dock in Juneau on August 29th but now it is supposed to be anchored in the marine park. I'm going to remain ambivalent because there's no need to wait for a bus and we can end up right downtown, however I'm not keen on waiting to tender, and I'm a fit and trim young buck who has no trouble moving about!

What's the easiest way to find out if you'll be embarking on a three-ship day? Do a search on a travel agent website? Or is there a directory somewhere?

If you google port schedules, it's one of the first hits that comes up. As luck would have it, the Port of Vancouver has it on their website.

http://www.portvancouver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Cruise-Schedule-2016-April-27-F.pdf

Are you before final payment?

 

After final there may be cancellations and/or the pricing may decrease. You could possibly get some OBC, if so.

Made my final payment the other day, and the cut-off is June 13th. I'll keep an eye on it, but I've already got $300 OBC for being in an SY category room.

Definitely not so lucky for me. I'm on NADM, Aug 27th and in SY7080. All the Signature suites are sold out and I don't see prices going down as a result. Oh well, I don't want to lose Explore 4 anyways.

I always book my own. My employer has a very agreeable employee discount rate with many hotel groups, which make it hard to say no. However, I still run into limited/no availability for corporate rates or overbooking due to major events (ie. Grey Cup, PNE, big headliner concert, etc).

My go-to is either the Sandman on West Georgia or the River Rock Hotel and Casino which is in Richmond. The Sandman is 1 block easy walk away from the Stadium Skytrain line, and I've had rooms as low as $85/night. The River Rock is 3 stops from the airport on the Canada Line Skytrain and I have not had a bad experience staying with them. I even met Jerry Springer there (No, not for having done anything morally repugnant) when he hosted "The Price is Right: Live".

Thanks so much. Do the taxis/cabs all take credit cards or is it cash?

Every one should be more than capable of processing a credit card transaction. I would be hesitant to get into ANY cab in Vancouver, let alone North America, that doesn't take a credit card.