Hllb

1 hour ago, Colorado Klutch said:

 

That's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on. Easier to just ban plastic water bottles. 

Boxed water is allowed and that is also resealable.

15 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

The cruise is June 20 on Cunard QE.  The reason given for canceling Juneau was “operational issues “.

 

I call it a sea day however they will be going into one of the glaciers.

That does make it better - at least there should be something to see! Hopefully Skagway goes well this season.

You aren’t allowed to bring a case of water. They do allow a small number of boxed or canned water - I think 12 500ml or less? It’s in an FAQ on HAL’s website. 
 

we will likely bring reusable bottles and buy some of the distilled water. It’s fine to drink btw - our drinking water we buy in 5 gallon jugs is RODI water which is similar to distilled in that everything is taken out

9 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

Since it is bussing the article I read says the rockslide fix has to comply with DOT requirements, whatever that means.

 

I seem to remember the article saying that the city would also have spotters watching the mountain just in case.

 

Even if that works not sure I would want to be on a big ship with everyone trying to get on however many buses they have.

 

I have a cruise scheduled to stop there however I think it will be touch and go all season.

 

The cruise I am in already canceled Juneau and put in a sea day.  I will not be happy if they cancel another port.

I actually canceled a cruise that was doing Skagway because I was concerned about them canceling and adding another sea day. Why did they cancel Juneau? 
 

For the busses, I think the DOT regulations are lesser since you’d have the protection of the vehicle.

18 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

Have you thought of getting two balcony cabins next to each other.  I believe that the divider inbetween them can be taken down to have one large balcony

I should look again, but last time I looked it was more expensive. That would be a nice set up

10 hours ago, Ashland said:

This is exactly what our extended family of 6 did this past September. Besides the $10.00pp there is also a small admittance fee for each venue, adult and children prices. So glad we didn't book this through the ship or with a private company as it would have been more.

Can you share details on the shuttle? I’ve yet to find any official info online for it, just reference that it exists

8 hours ago, AFNavigator said:

If your older children are under 21, you might have a challenge finding an interior for them across from a Signature Suite--there's only a handful of insides on deck 6 midship.

Yes, we’re currently set up across from each other, forward. If we switch to. Suite, we can be on the same deck but not in the same area. They will be fine that way, just not as convenient. 

8 minutes ago, aroundtheworld96 said:

I struggled for some time choosing an excursion in Sitka and eventually settled on the "Wilderness Sea Kayaking" excursion available through our cruise line. It is advertised as a guided kayak ride with beautiful scenery and the chance to sea some marine life. We chose it because we wanted to do something active and it was also one of the more affordable tours (99$/person). Since the tour is only 3 hours, afterwards we plan to hike the totem park independently. It seems to be very easy to do on your own, and from there you could walk to the raptor center if that is of interest. From what I have understood, only Fortress of the Bear is not accessible by foot once in Sitka. 

Thanks! I think I’m going to look into doing stuff on our own. I love kayaking too and we’re doing that in Ketchikan.

Just now, oaktreerb said:

There should be a bus to the Raptor Center at the site (Convention Center) where the ship’s complimentary bus drops you off in Sitka.  It was around $10pp.  It does a loop that drops you off at the Fortress of the Bears,  picks you up and takes you to the Raptor Center, and back to the starting point.  It runs all day.  The Fortress of the Bears is the farthest point in the loop, and the bus is best way to see the bears.  You can also walk around the harbor to a sea life touch tank exhibit and on to the totem park which will lead you to the Raptor Center.  The totem park is a nice walk.  I highly recommend the Fortress of the Bears.

Oh, that sounds super easy to do yourself! I like that idea. We have a long time in the port so could take as much time as we’d like. Is there a website for the bus or do you know what it’s called?

1 hour ago, TwoGuysPBC said:

That is very VERY upsetting since one of the reasons we chose this over Celebrity is that we both loved Lincoln Center Stage! We don't really care for BB Kings and Billboard is normally competing with the casino slots noise. I had already heard that there is no America's test kitchen anymore. This is going to be a very long, boring 10 days ahead.

Same here - my kids (who are all orchestral musicians) we’re looking forward to it. It seems like they took several things away and no distinct replacements. And there weren’t a lot of activities to start with. 

We have adult children as well, though they aren’t 21 so I couldn’t book them their own room. We will go to the desk and ask for extra keys to each room and will sleep where we like. We did this on Carnival and it worked fine. I read on HAL it is ok too. For your rates, you’ll still be listed on your rooms but no one is doing a bed check to make sure you’re in the right bed.

I'm still debating what to do in Sitka. I wanted to snorkel, but the kids are not on board. They liked the sound of the Hot Italian Glass tour, but I'm not sold on it (and people here kind of said it's probably not quite right for us). The raptor center, fortress of the bear, and totems were recommended. Other ideas? Or vendors for that tour? I'm on HAL but they don't have one tour that does those 3 things. I have found some resellers that do, though they are quite short around 2.5 hrs for all 3 things. I looked at rainforest hikes and renting bikes too, and the kids didn't seem interested. At least one of them LOL.

42 minutes ago, bdd123 said:

 

Just getting to MDR at seating times was ugly.    Full halls and elevators.   We avoided it completely.

That must be why I've heard of people making reservations for anytime seating. I mean, I did see lines on our Carnival cruise, but we managed to avoid them most of the time

13 minutes ago, bdd123 said:

 

Noisy, slow, lines and crowds.   Not my thing.

Fair LOL. Not my thing either, but specialty dining with 5? Nope LOL. On our Carnival cruise, we almost never waited for our table of choice - 5 minutes at most, so hopefully have a good experience with HAL.

12 hours ago, Travel To Be Free said:

Don--- now that may be a good idea.  

 

Edinburgher-This is great information.  Skagway sounds like a great stop.

 

Hllb-So the inside passage is more scenic.  That's great information.  Whales, seals, moose, elk, eagles....  these would be exciting to see!!  I think 7 hours in a small boat could be a little scary...  and possibly not good for sea sickness.  But I'm going to look into it because it seems like a great adventure.

Oh, leaving from Vancouver will be smoother seas as well - leaving from Seattle has you in the open ocean for quite a while, so much more prone to rough seas.

12 hours ago, Travel To Be Free said:

Don--- now that may be a good idea.  

 

Edinburgher-This is great information.  Skagway sounds like a great stop.

 

Hllb-So the inside passage is more scenic.  That's great information.  Whales, seals, moose, elk, eagles....  these would be exciting to see!!  I think 7 hours in a small boat could be a little scary...  and possibly not good for sea sickness.  But I'm going to look into it because it seems like a great adventure.

We have a 13 yr old that gets sea sickness but we're giving it a try. Once you get to the fjord, it shouldn't be an issue. We have found Bonine to work fairly well for him, so we'll see. He's even willing to try whale watching again, as long as he's medicated. We did a really rough seas ww trip in Syndey in 2019 and it was kind of a disaster. 2/3 of that boat was puking, my son included.

9 hours ago, iflyrc5 said:

I can't confirm they have mats on the Eurodam but they have had them on all the HAL ships we have sailed. 

I swear I thought I saw a yoga class talked about somewhere - wouldn't they have yoga mats? Sure those may be thinner than is needed for knee PT, but then you can just roll it up, I'd think.

6 hours ago, bdd123 said:

 

I did not and would not bother with MDR.  Just seemed like a nightmare.

Why does the MDR seem like a nightmare to you? We will be doing the MDR most of the time, with maybe one meal at a specialty restaurant. 

I'm not concerned with portion sizes either, tbh. I actually kind of prefer small sizes so if there are two things I want to try, I'm not wasting food. My kids may have more of an issue with it, but again, just order more. I actually think it's smart of HAL to make smaller portions knowing that people may order multiples. This would reduce food waste.

43 minutes ago, Gsel said:

We did this tour a few years ago. It is ok, but would not do again. Most of it you can do on your own. If you MUST blow your own glass, do it, but all you will come away with is a glass cocktail stirrer!

Thanks for the first hand info. This wasn't at the top of my list but my kids picked it. I'll have to discuss with them again.

9 hours ago, DogLover said:

With all due respect, there is so much more to see in Sitka (and true to Alaska) than a glass blowing excursion. The Alaska Raptor Center, Fortress of the Bears, Totem Park are truly wonderful.

 

Hope you enjoy Sitka, whatever you choose to do.

Thanks for the suggestions. I was hoping to keep this excursion a bit more affordable as we're doing some pricey ones on other port stops. I'll look at these options again though.

24 minutes ago, KAKcruiser said:

You have to be careful.  You don't know how many guarantee cabins they have booked.  For example, even though they are showing 19 available cabins, 18 might be guarantees and after one more is booked they could all disappear.  

Good to know, thanks.

1 hour ago, eileeshb said:

I’ll be on Bliss in October when she’s the only ship on the schedule that day in Skagway. I am hoping that tendering won’t be necessary by then. My one experience of tendering on that size of ship at great stirrup caye did not fill me with confidence so I’m hoping to avoid it in the future.

I don't believe there is any solution planned for this year that would allow large ships to dock normally. You'll either tender, or bus across the rock zone, depending on which position your ship is assigned to. Since you're the only ship in port, I'd think they'd go with the bussing option.

1 hour ago, Denise T said:

I will be sailing on HAL for the first time at the end of May. I am doing the same for the Nieuw Amsterdam menus. As I look at the menus for the MDR, there are a lot of choices that I would like to try. I read these boards and take everything with a grain of salt. As you stated, food is subjective. I started my diet now so that I can enjoy all of the food! My main goal is to enjoy the trip with my family after the past several difficult years. Enjoy your trip!

Enjoy yours, and come back and update this thread with your opinion on the food!

HAL has itineraries that go to Glacier Bay and provide access to Skagway, with the railway. Skagway port had a rock slide last summer so is a little different currently, but they do intend to take ships this summer (there are multiple threads if you want to read up on it). Most people would recommend leaving out of Vancouver as the inside passage is more scenic (we chose Seattle because the flights to Vancouver were much more expensive for us). 

What kind of wildlife are you looking for? Many of the ports have good whale watching. We opted for a kayaking tour in Orca Cove out of Ketchikan which may provide wildlife viewing. Our cruise doesn't go to Skagway so we aren't doing the rail tour. Another option is that some cruise lines, for the Juneau port stop, offer a small boat excursion up Tracy Arm Fjord to see the glaciers up close, and I've also heard it frequently has good wildlife viewing, including possibly whales, eagles, and otters, and maybe seals. There are some recent threads on that tour as well, and it comes very highly recommended even though it's 7 hours on a small boat.

Has anyone taken this tour? It might be new this season, which would mean no one has taken it yet. I personally want to do snorkeling, but my kids are interested in this tour.