JULIE A A

Thanks xoxo - might have to hand that over to my more tech savvy hubby! Thanks for the heads up though :)

Sweet - I'm only Ruby level with Princess until after this cruise. Hoping for a call from the upgrade fairy then :)

Thanks Don - good advice to contact them directly. I did and found out Verizon and ACS Alaska are the only 2 cell phone networks, though I can purchase internet for $8 for 24 hours. It seems Verizon has to be the most coverage across Alaska.

Hi, I'm travelling from Australia and cruising from Vancouver to Whittier then land tour to Kenai, Denali & Fairbanks, flying to Seattle (24 hours) and back to Vancouver. I need to purchase a SIM card for text messaging, local calls (taxi etc) and data use (email, google search, messenger etc.) Will 1 company and 1 SIM cover all my needs or do I need a seperate SIM for Canada? Can I organise this in Vancouver (if so where?) or do I need to wait until I cross into USA? Is the phone coverage good in and around Fairbanks, and up to Chenna Hot Springs? In Australia we need to fill in a contract with ID etc and activate the plan which takes some time. Is this the same and if so, how long does it take to activate? Any information appreciated. Thanks :)

Hi, I'm travelling from Australia and cruising from Vancouver to Whittier then land tour to Kenai, Denali & Fairbanks, then flying to Seattle (24 hours) and back to Vancouver. I need to purchase a SIM card from Vancouver for text messaging, local calls (taxi etc) and data use (email, google, messenger etc.) Would AT&T cover all my needs or do I need a seperate SIM for Canada? Is the phone coverage good in and around Fairbanks, and up to Chenna Hot Springs? In Australia we need to fill in a contract with ID etc and activate the plan. Is this the same? Any information appreciated. Thanks :)

Just for reference, on Princess, we have upgraded from a balcony room to a mini suite for $149 and upgraded from a mini suite to a full suite for $149 pp

 

Can I ask if they contacted you regarding the upgrade, or did you contact Princess directly? I am going through a TA - does that affect my chances of being offered a paid upgrade? Currently in good interior cabin but yesterday all interior and ocean view cabins were sold out with only 93 balcony & suite cabins remaining. 6 weeks to go. Any recommendations welcome :)

Hit the 80c mark yesterday. Here's a news article about the outlook - likely to reach 83c but unlikely it will go too much higher without interference from Reserve Bank. They are comfortable with low 70's and meeting today to make a decision whether they should 'intervene' or not.

http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/aussie-dollar-looks-set-to-crash-through-80c-mark-after-rapid-climb-to-twoyear-high/news-story/f8167d8a269381657a5ad769642a24cb

Awesome work jb008 - followed your instructions (took two attempts as I didn't follow them very carefully at first) but now have the patters on my computer :D Thank you. Better than any bedtime reading material I've ever found :)

so jb008, you received a refund afterward and JULIE A A, yours was price matched beforehand?

I sail in September but have booked and paid for my excursions, found a cheaper price and tried my luck - it was approved. The OBC will be listed on my account when I cruise.

Not until 1st September so no rush! Previous cruises have taught me the daily 'Patters' holds a lot of valuable information like when you need to be back on board at Skagway (so I know what ferry I have to catch back from Haines!)

For my Alaska bound cruise on Coral Princess, Ketchikan, I received a price match refund for the 'Neets Bay Bear Watch & Flight' $389.95 against the actual provider of the tour Promech Air 'Neets Bay Bear Watch by Floatplane' $339. I now have $56.05 on-board credit awaiting :)

Awesome review thank you. I would certainly be interested in the patters!

Julie

Thank you everyone for your response - I have decided its a must-do for me simply for the elusive Alaskan animals they have there. The travel time does not bother me so much as we are there from 6am-8.30pm! For anyone interested, joe@joeordonez.com does photography tours and can arrange 'private' 3 hour time at Kroshel. Is quite expensive but I am considering it along with other photographic hotspots in and around Haines. If it works out too expensive then I will simply do the ship excursion which doesn't sound so expensive now by comparison! I considered hiring a car from Haines but driving in USA scares me (we Aussies drive on the left side of the road!) Anyway - nice to have options and thanks for your responses :)

Also trying to get to Kroschel Refuge in September - we dock in Skagway 6th September. The Princess tour is expensive but they won't let me book as I return from the bike down Klondike Summit 10 minutes BEFORE the Kroschel tour commences. Does anyone know of another independent tour or way to get there. The Haines Ferry appears easy enough but then there is a 1 hour drive (school bus) to Kroschel with lots of people missing the turnoff and getting lost (no signs). Ideas anyone?

Following this thread... our cruise (Princess) does off this shore excursion but it commences 10 minutes AFTER the bike tour down Klondike Summit gets back and they won't allow me to book - they spend the first 45 minutes doing a tour briefing and 150 yard walk to the ferry, surely they would allow us to join them! Have researched other options and driving hire car seems to be only way??? I would rather not drive if there is another option and have read the turnoff is difficult to find too. I like looking at the scenery, not worrying about getting lost and also not driving on the right side of the road - we Aussies drive on the left!) Is there any transport/tour options available independently? Is it better to Ferry to Haines and hire a car from there? Are there other passengers that want to travel 6th September that we could carpool or book a driver???