no1racefan1

A couple of things--the cruise fare dropped from when I originally booked it, and I was able to use the Princess chat to have an agent reduce my booking to the lower price. I gave up some OBC but it still shaved off several hundred dollars. Additionally, I purchased some Princess gift cards from AARP at a discount. They used to be 10% discount and are currently 8%... so that helped bring the cost down a bit. Are you looking for hotels in Anchorage or elsewhere? I booked at Hyatt using points, so I don't know if I'm much help. I think it was over $300/night if paying in cash. I'm sure you'll be able to put it all together and there are so many people here that could answer any questions you have! Also, you can head over to TripAdvisor and post on their Alaska forum. I found it tremendously helpful to get feedback while putting our itinerary together.

We're arriving in Anchorage the 13th and doing a DIY land tour by rental car before our cruise on the 18th. Is that when you cruise also? We decided not to try to fit in Denali when we're there, so the gravel road became a non-issue.

Only 89 days until we touch down in Alaska!! I'm so excited and so anxious that I'm forgetting some important detail, LOL. I had a dream that I forgot to bring our passports... Where's everybody at in your planning? What should I be thinking about at this stage? I'm hoping to get some upgrade bid opportunities to try for an OV or balcony, but we're happy with an Interior if we don't get it. Balconies are listed for $1,000pp more so yeah, that's not happening without some upgrade magic! Everything else is holding steady! I still check flights regularly but haven't had any change. I downloaded the new Princess app but haven't done anything with it. I've done everything through the website so far. I think I need to work on getting in shape for all the activities I have booked, LOL!!

Okay, thank you! I won't worry about it then. I must just be searching weird. Yes, they are still correct in my flight booking. If I was to cancel and then rebook each leg separately to get a better price, since I can't seem to book them together any more, can I still check my bags through to my final destination? Edit: never mind, I figured it out. I originally booked using miles. They must not be available to book using miles any more. I can see the flight if I uncheck the miles box. Sorry I forgot that detail when I made the original post.

I'm not very flying-savvy, and wondering if somebody could offer some insight. I booked flights for our cruise way back when flights first opened up (because I'm a weirdo like that). I have this United flight booked home: When I do a mock booking, this flight option is not listed. It's been like this for several months. It only lists flights with two connections, nothing with just the one connection in Denver. The seat map appears that almost all economy is booked, along with a few first class and economy +, so it's not as if its an empty flight. I'm wondering if this is an indication that it might get rescheduled? I don't really want to have two connections but if we end up having to, I'd like to know so I can cancel and rebook them myself because they are slightly cheaper than when I booked. I know nobody has a crystal ball so its probably just wishful thinking to try to preemptively prepare, but if you've read my other posts you'll know I'm a serious over-planner!

Happy to! I have a much nicer itinerary saved on my laptop but that's currently at the computer hospital being repaired, which I guess is a great lesson in learning to use cloud storage... I'm like the oldest 41 year old ever. Anyways, this is what we're planning: Day 1--fly in to Anchorage, pick up rental car, staying at Hyatt Place Day 2--Rent bikes from Pablo's Bike Rentals and ride the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail; in the afternoon, drive to Glacier View. Staying at an airbnb cabin in/near Glacier View. Day 3--Matanuska Glacier guided hike with MICA Guides in the morning; then drive down to Seward. Staying at Resurrection Lodge on the Bay. Day 4--Orca Quest cruise with Major Marine Tours; stay second night at Res. Lodge Day 5--Guided kayak tour w/ Adventure 60 North in the morning; then drive back to Anchorage, stopping to see sights along the way. Drop off rental car at airport. Stay at Hyatt House. Day 6--Uber/taxi to train station; take Alaska Railroad train to Whittier; board ship Day 7--Hubbard Glacier, we did not book the excursion Day 8--Glacier Bay Day 9--Skagway; Chilkoot Trail Hike & Float Adventure. Might rent bikes in the afternoon but we'll play it by ear. Day 10--Juneau; Bike & Brew Glacier View Day 11--Ketchikan; Alaska Fishing & Wilderness Dining for DH. I think I might book a massage in town. Day 12--Sea Day Day 13--Arrive in Vancouver & fly home

I saw that mentioned here on CC, but I haven't seen it anywhere when I sign on to Princess. Oh well, from what I've read the earlier prices are still the same or cheaper than the 'sale'. I think they raised prices on excursions and then put them on sale to the original price, lol.

They were available to book when the cruise opened up (so Feb 2023 I think?) although they added more throughout those first several months. And of course, pricing, scheduling, and availability has fluctuated.

We are only 122 days away from touching down in Alaska!! Can't believe we started at 400+ days. DH called today to reserve our dog sitter. It's a big expense but she'll come to our house 3x per day to feed, walk, play with, and (if necessary) clean up after our dog. Our dog gets to stay in her home, where she's comfortable, and we can check on her with our Ring cam. So the expense is worth it! Haven't looked at shore excursions for awhile so decided to check just so I could share information with you all! First of all, is it just me or has there been a minor redesign on the website? This looks different: Check out the excursion we have booked in Skagway. We booked for the morning time slot at $164.95 when it was the only time slot available. Then they raised the price a month or two ago. Now they've opened up a second time at the lower price. If anybody reading this had booked the earlier one at $199.95, I'd consider switching!

Great deal! Our flight leaves at 5:15am but at least it's from our hometown 😴

I found who I think is the tour operator for this particular excursion, and they have great reviews on TripAdvisor, even in May. I'm waiting to hear from DH though--I sent him the excursion and the reviews and told him to decide if he still wants to try it. I don't really know what he's looking to get out of it, LOL.

I love Alaska Airlines. They were our airline of choice when we had to drive two hours to get to an airport. Now, United is serving our local airport, so we use them. But I'd choose Alaska if I had a chance 🙂 We're flying United to Denver and then switching to Alaska Airlines to Anchorage next spring. Their west coast flight times/options are so much better, and we've always had excellent service from them. Also they have their $99 companion fare if you get their credit card, although I'm pretty sure it can't be used in first class.

Yeah, I don't know if its unusual or not, but many excursions have gone up by $20-$50! Maybe they had them listed at last year's prices until they confirmed with the vendors for 2024? I'm not sure, I'm just glad we booked early. Ex. the Ketchikan fishing excursion I booked for DH at $369.95 is now listed at $419.95.

As soon as you know what you want. On our 2024 Alaska cruise, several excursions are already sold out and most of them have gone up in price since we booked.

Honestly the time to reserve it was last summer.

Not an issue in theory, but some shore excursion times end up getting changed. Last summer there was a lady who had to cancel and rebook excursions three times because they kept getting changed and overlapping each other. Just something to be aware of. I'd have a plan B just in case you have to cancel one of them.

Thanks, I'll mention this to DH.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! This morning I did a quick perusal of all of our trip reservations and discovered that one of our flights has gone down in price. I was able to cancel and rebook, saving us 2,000 miles. It's not a lot, but I'm grateful to get those miles back since I'm trying to save enough miles to upgrade our seats! When you book things far in advance, you should always regularly check reservations for any price changes. I also checked in on Princess excursions just so I could share information with you all--the Hubbard Glacier excursion is, for the first time, under 20 spots available!! This being five months out, that's a good indication of how quickly this excursion can sell out. DH is still the only person booked on his fishing excursion, but I'm sure that will change.

Use the hangtag on the door. Do not call. Do not use the app. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. 😉

No it is not.

There is such a misconception on CC about ship-sponsored excursions being all big, obnoxious, less enjoyable, etc. We've had exceptional tours through the cruiselines, you just have to do your research and know what you are getting. Our experiences (from various cruise lines) have included: Rainforest & Waterfall Hike on Maui--8 people on the tour, and the guide was a 20+ year local (actually relocated from MT, as almost everybody we met in Hawaii had moved there from somewhere else). It was a muddy, wet, active, fabulous excursion! Volcano Hike in Hilo--6 people on the tour and the guide was also weirdly from MT. She worked for a local tour company. We walked across an old volcano, visited the national park, and then since we were three couples (all strangers) celebrating anniversaries, she let us vote to get back a little bit late in order to take a detour to see a black sand beach. It was amazing and so was she! Private Beach Getaway in Cozumel--this was probably the biggest ship excursion we've been on and I think it was about 20 ppl. We were taken by bus to a beach house and waited on hand and foot while we laid on the beach, got massages, etc. They made fresh guacamole for everyone, including making a special batch for my DH who's allergic to onions. Then they cooked lunch for us right on the grill and brought us whatever we wanted. It was heaven and DH tipped them very generously, lol. Helicopter to Dogsledding Camp in Juneau--Only us and one other couple in the helicopter--I think there was one other helicopter. This is very obviously a local tour company as I think most of them are in Alaska, contracted by the cruise line. It was a magical experience and probably what sold me on cruising and cruise excursions. We have, on occasion, also done things on our own in ports, but if I'm booking tours I almost always book through the ship. It's not even about the whole 'getting back to ship' thing. It's just the ease of booking through the cruise line, getting tickets in our cabin, being directed where to go, and having all the scheduling arranged for us. Never have to worry if the ship arrives late, departs late, doesn't make it to a port, etc. Don't have to coordinate or communicate with any tour operators. It's all arranged. Just tell me where to go, lol. Some places we could have saved a few bucks probably; however, I've noticed especially in AK that booking direct is the same price or nearly the same price as booking through the cruise line. Might as well let them do all the work!

Glacier Bay and Inside Passage are different places and not related to each other. If a ship is going to Glacier Bay, it will be clearly listed as part of the itinerary: Note that inside passage is not listed as part of the itinerary, as it's just part of the ship's route. You can see from the map somebody else posted that Royal class ships must sail to the west of Vancouver Island, thus not sailing the 'true' inside passage. (I say 'true' because a lot of round-trip itineraries are called Inside Passage, and may or may not be sailing to the west of Vancouver Island depending on class of ship. The terminology is misleading.)

My understanding is you can check your bag through to your cruise ship when you get on the train in Anchorage.

If you decide to stay at Harbor 360, it is owned by Major Marine, and you can get a discount at the hotel if you book a tour through them. Or vice versa, I can't remember. At any rate, call and ask about booking the two together!

You can buy gift cards at an 8% discount from AARP Rewards. Search the boards for AARP gift cards, there are a lot of threads.