ChanaC

I just got off the Discovery. If I asked for tea in the dining room I usually just got a standard black/English breakfast tea. I noticed a random assortment of teas in the buffet and they didn't seem to be stocked well. I personally love jasmine green tea but I couldn't find it in the buffet, and I think I only noticed a Twinings green tea bag once (which yes I did grab and pocket for later). However, the International Cafe had the "premium" teas, including jasmine. I had the plus package so it was included, but if if you don't have it and don't want to pay $2 for a tea bag and you want something specific I would bring my own tea bag. As a note, I like a good matcha green tea latte and I thought I saw it as an option while looking at photos of menus other people have took, but it apparently wasn't available on our ship. The only "fancy" tea latte was a chai latte, and they use a chai syrup for it instead of tea bags. I tried it once, and it was okay but not great. They also don't carry oat milk (my preferred milk alternative) and they were out of coconut milk (my backup milk alternative) so I had to get it with soy milk.

Well we sail from April 30-May 7th and just found out that Port Valet doesn't start until later in the season, so we wouldn't be able to use it for our cruise. I see the suggestion about the Marriott Waterfront, but any other suggestions? We're in a similar situation to the original poster where we don't have flights until 7:30pm and planned on spending the day exploring Seattle before heading the airport. Not having Port Valet is really throwing us through an unexpected loop.

Thanks everyone! I have credit cards that have the chip (no pin associated with it), but they also all have contactless chips. Do retailers in Canada do contactless, and if so do those also require a pin? What about just swiping your card?

Last year we stayed at the Crowne Plaza Downtown Seattle and I would probably pick it again if I returned. Pros were nice huge rooms, a couple of basic amenities like a restaurant, grab and go snack stand, and a small business center. We were also able to fairly easy, 15 minute walk to Pike Place Market (although as a note the way back was uphill and could be a tad challenging). We could also walk to a nearby Target and a mall (which had a Din Tai Fung!), and it was right off the highway (yet still quiet). There are also some less desirable and potentially not safe streets, but I didn't feel that at all near the hotel. It was a pretty quiet neighborhood. The day of the cruise we got a taxi and only had a 15ish minute ride to the port. I remember as I was searching around for a reservation it was one of the better deals I could find. I can only really think of two minor cons. One was that the building is a fairly narrow but tall tower, so all the rooms are basically right next to or across from the elevator. At first I thought it would be an issue because we would hear people all day and night, but since there aren't many units on each floor it's not like a lot of people are really coming and going through the small hallway. The other was that the hotel was in a business district and it was challenging to find casual (aka not businessy take your client for a steak) restaurants open within a two block radius on weekends. For example, I arrived on a Saturday afternoon and wanted a quick lunch without wandering too far and one of the only things open was a Subway. Then for dinner we also wanted to do something easy and not venture out too far, and all I could find was a MOD Pizza. This probably isn't an issue for people who hit the ground running and are always out and exploring, but not great if you are tired from travel and just want something quick and easy. It did seem like there were a lot of lunch places open during the week, probably to appeal to people working in the nearby offices.

It Sitka, we loved the chowder sold inside the Sitka Sound Science Center gift shop. We almost didn't stop in there but we were passing by (on the way to and back from the Historical Park) and decided to check it out. We tried chowder at almost every stop (including Seattle's famous Pike Place Chowder) and we thought this was the best! We enjoyed eating it while sitting at one of the picnic tables outside overlooking the water. They also had some tasty looking sandwiches we didn't get, and the gift shop seemed to have a lot of cute stuff.

I'm on Discovery in just a few weeks to Alaska. Looks like the change isn't officially happening until the fall so I don't think it'll affect us, but I wonder how much time it takes to flip the restaurants over? I assume there will be at least some new paint, tiles, counter tops, etc. I hope there isn't a lot of noise or construction for guests to deal with. It looks like one of the ships will be in a dry dock, but will the others be flipped when guests are on board? On Discovery it looks like the outside of the Bistro is one of the only few promenade spaces accessible to guests.

In Juneau, check out the Mendenhall Glacier. There are lots of tours where you just get dropped off and can explore on your own and on your own pace. You can walk/hike around the various trails there, including to Nugget Falls. Also consider doing a whale watch. You'll get a dose of adventure of nature and most boats and tours allow young children on board. You can find plenty of independent tour operators for both. Admittedly neither option is super adventurous but it should hopefully have a little something for all members of the family.

Looks like the deck plans are working again, at least for the Discovery Princess.

I've also noticed the issue with the deck plans, since at least late last week. I get a page saying there is technical difficulties.

My family and I (from the US) are sailing out of Vancouver in a few weeks, and we are arriving in Vancouver two days ahead of time to explore the city a bit. However, my family and I are having a little debate and I'm hoping to get some input. I've been telling everyone that we should take some Canadian currency with us. I know my bank can transfer currency, which I heard is one of the better places in terms of fees. While we plan to spend money with our credit cards (ones with no foreign transaction fees) I think it is always a good idea to carry some of the local currency with you while you are traveling. Just like the US, I'm sure there are some stores or restaurants (especially small ones) that are cash only. I have also been to places where credit card machines are down or not working and cash is the only option. Plus, we'll want to tip the port baggage handlers the day of the cruise. Also, you never know what emergencies might pop up, and having the local currency just seems like a smart idea. Admittedly, the only time I've spent in Canada is a few hours in Victoria on a previous cruise, so what do I know? The rest of my family say it's not worth it, and that since the US dollar is valued higher than the CAN dollar that if we have to use USD it would be in the vendor or baggage handler's interest to tip them in what we have. I say that must be a huge inconvenience because now we're making them transfer the currency with their own time and money, even if the value works in their favor. And that's assuming they will accept USD at all. Am I right? Is it a good idea to bring some Canadian cash/coins with us? Or is my family right and that we can get around with just credit cards and American currency?

Thank you, I'll look into getting another card, especially since they aren't that pricy. I'm also looking into getting another battery pack. This weekend when I went out to shoot I started with half a battery and ended up totally draining it. Having another will hopefully keep me from missing out just because I need another charge. And while the new camera has a fancy digital download system, I also have a cable for it so hopefully I can connect it to the computer and download everything without the internet.

Thank you The case I bought came with a full removable rain cover (kind of shaped like a hood for a rain jacket). It's probably meant to cover the entire case but I'll also plan on using it for the camera. It has velcro and elastic so hopefully it will produce a nice seal and can conform to whatever I need covered. I also have my lightweight rain jacket that I rather throw over my camera than myself if necessary. We're actually cruising in the beginning of May so everything is booked! I'm excited about the sea otter and wildlife tour we booked in Sitka, I'm hoping we see a lot of animals. Last year we did a whale watch in Juneau and we only saw three whales from a distance who all dived down almost as soon as we got near them, and since the old camera was so slow I feel like I missed some good photo opportunities, so hopefully this will make up for it. And yes, I kept the old memory card from the old camera so I have two cards. I might also bring my computer and try uploading photos while on the ship, so I can wipe the card clean each day. Thank you. I feel guilty when I sometimes switch even to the automatic mode because sometimes the camera just knows best. You're right, when you're on the top of a mountain and you have a great view it's fun to play around, but when you're on a moving boat (or the train in Skagway) sometimes you just don't have the time! Really, it's about capturing the memory and sometimes that's better than how the photo really looks. And I too found that I got some great photos on my iPhone!

I just booked an independent tour/bus to Mendenhall with Juneau Whale Watch. What's nice about them is that they have buses leaving the glacier every 30 minutes, so you can stay for however long you want (within their hours, and I believe they keep buses going until 6:00 or 7:00 depending on the day). We did this because we didn't want to feel rushed or on a schedule, and we rather take our time since this is our main activity we're doing in Juneau. We actually booked a slightly more expensive bus with them, which includes a city tour and a designated pick up time from the terminal (vs the other option of getting off the ship and waiting in a line to get on one of their buses). Maybe consider booking with them, or another company that does open ended buses? You do have a short stay, but you could still stay at the glacier for a few hours if you wanted to. Also, from what I saw, only certain taxi companies have authorization to drive into the glacier's parking lot. Ubers have to drop people off by the main road, and it's about a mile walk just to get to the visitor center. While it was more money to book though JWW, we at least know we'll get a ride directly into the park.

I'm very much a newbie-ish amateur photographer, and mostly self taught. For over 10 years I used a Canon Powershot SX30 IS, which had a pretty decent attached lens. I played around with the manual settings and I think I got some really good shots out of it over the years. I took it to Alaska last year and while I did get some great images I could tell the camera was on it's last leg. Plus, I hated how slow it was, especially with the zoom, and because of it I think I missed some good action shots, like of whales. I also really wanted to step up to a "real" camera with an attached lens, and to have a little more control over the camera in general. After a lot of researching, I just bought a Canon EOS M50 Mark II, and two lens (15-45mm and 55-200mm). I scrolled though this thread and found a lot of great advice, but does anyone have any tips for a relative newbie? I'm going back to Alaska this year. I personally love taking landscapes, especially in Alaska where there are some amazing sights, but we're also going on a sea otter and wildlife tour and I'm hoping I'll be able to get some nice shots on that. I know I may not have the fanciest camera body nor the longest lens, but the good thing about Alaska is that the surroundings are so beautiful I can't imagine screwing up any photo that badly! I'm trying to get out around my town now and practice (especially at some local gardens). I just bought a new case (that comes with a waterproof cover - great for Alaska) and will take the camera plus both lenses, although admittedly the new case is a little large and bulky to carry around.

I sail in a little over 30 days and a few things are added. It seems like most of it are the "regular" events that happen consistently on every cruise like arts and crafts, pickle ball, LGBTQ+ and singles/solo traveler meetups, AA meetings, afternoon tea, etc. It's probably easy enough for them to program that stuff into every sailing since the times don't often change. I'm seeing a few specific events starting to populate, like an Alaska lecture, but there isn't a whole lot right now. I'm hoping more pops up soon!