strickerj

For sure, ArriveCAN was about the simplest part of this confusing process.

I can't answer your main question, but yes, HAL switched from Seward to Whittier in 2021 in order to share facilities with Princess. (Both are owned by Carnival.) The one-lane tunnel is neat, but remember you'll need to get there when it opens for your direction or it could be a half hour wait.

I'm not sure; I thought the testing requirements were just by the cruise lines, but I see now I was mistaken on that. My point though wasn't that they shouldn't require testing for cruise ships (that's their prerogative), but that also publishing that COVID tests wouldn't be required for entry "by sea" adds to the confusion when the cruise ship testing requirement actually is in place.

I see that now, although I still find it weird that the press release (and revised guidelines) say a COVID test is no longer required to enter Canada by land, air, or sea, but it actually is still required to board a cruise.

We were offered turndown service on our Eurodam Alaska cruise a couple weeks ago but declined. (DW and I aren't big on having people in the room, and we don't expect towels washed more than once or twice a week anyway.) The day we did have them service the room, the steward left the little Holland-America-logo chocolates on the bed, so those are still around. :)

I see, so you're saying the Canadian government is still requiring COVID test to board a cruise ship that leaves from, arrives in, or calls on any Canadian port, but technically the test isn't required to be granted entry into Canada? (That is, you'll be denied boarding the cruise without passing whether you intended to go ashore in Canada or not?) That seems kind of weasel-wordy - the press release sure suggested that you wouldn't need a COVID test at all to take a cruise to/from Canada, whereas instead, we get a distinction without a real difference, IMHO. But if that's the case, it is what it is.

Not sure if you've seen this, but HAL's website has a comparison of each ship's amenities: https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/inventory-assets/ships/at-a-glance/hal-ships-at-a-glance-05-23-22.pdf. Per this, the only facilities that Eurodam has but Westerdam doesn't are Tamarind, Nami Sushi, and New York Pizza. As I understand it, the Signature class (Eurodam) is pretty heavily based on the Vista class (Westerdam), just with one more deck. I was on Eurodam last week but wouldn't hesitate to try either.

Juneau had plenty of vendors at the dock. Sitka didn't really, but we tendered to shore and didn't use the new terminal. We did a sled dog tour and Mt. Roberts tram in Juneau; both were well worth it.

Oh, this actually contradicts the link I posted, and neither has a date on it. Still, this press release said the testing requirement would be dropped for all fully vaccinated travelers on April 1: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2022/03/government-of-canada-will-remove-pre-entry-test-requirement-for-fully-vaccinated-travellers-on-april-1.html. IME, ArriveCAN did not ask for a test result, only proof of vaccination and the health questionnaire.

Right, my point was just to clarify that it's the cruise lines requiring it, no longer the Canadian government. That's why the test results don't need to be included in your ArriveCAN submission.

This is from April 1, before the restrictions were reduced. Latest guidelines are here: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/flying-canada-checklist/covid-19-testing-travellers-coming-into-canada. Per this, fully vaccinated travelers do not require pre-arrival tests when arriving by air, land, or sea, but do still need to fill out ArriveCAN to provide proof of vaccination and the health questionnaire.

Yeah, sometimes you have to get into it before the instructions make sense. (And sometimes they still don't.) Good luck, and have a great trip!

Correct, no longer required by Canada but still required by the cruise line. When submitting my proof of vaccination to ArriveCAN, I didn't see a way to link to an online location rather than upload from your local drive, but I did mine in a browser on a PC, not the mobile app.

Yeah, sorry I wasn't clear, but Canada no longer requires a negative test result, only proof of vaccination. The cruise line will still require the negative test to board.

Just to clarify, you'll already be in Seattle 72 hours from your cruise embarkation? (ArriveCAN's deadline is based on your cruise departure date, not the date the cruise actually arrives in Canada, since Victoria is usually the last stop in the Seattle roundtrips.)

You can complete ArriveCAN on a PC and print it out in advance if you'd prefer.

We got the Nikon ProStaff 3S 10x42 (same as @shuyak mentioned but the 10x magnification version), and I was impressed, but my wife couldn't use them because of the shape of her face. (Somehow she was unable to find a position through which both lenses were visible simultaneously.) They're not dirt cheap but not high-end either; I got them from https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1225884-REG/nikon_16031_10x42_prostaff_3s_binocular.html, where they came with a carrying case and harness. In the case, they're small and lightweight enough to fit in my camera backpack. Note that I also have a Sony a7 with a 24-105 mm lens and a lot of accessories, so I'm kind of used to carrying around a lot of weight and bulk. (I apologize in advance if you're ever behind me while boarding an airplane.) FWIW, I came across this while reading a "10 best" kind of list (I forget where now, sorry), and only two were less than $500 (this Nikon and some Chinese brand I'd never heard of).

Forgot to mention - not to be a downer, but have you by chance heard about the issues with Crown Princess? (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2854063-crown-princess-alaska-may-21st/) In short, the ship is experiencing a malfunction that results in a lower cruising speed, and therefore missed it reduced port times. I'm not sure when the ship is scheduled for repairs, but if your itinerary is affected, you might consider switching to a different ship (others have suggested Discovery Princess has a similar itinerary) while you're still in their Cruise with Confidence time frame (30 days prior to departure to switch without penalty IIRC).

We just got back from a similar itinerary on Eurodam. (Holland America Line and Princess have the same parent company, so they share a lot of facilities and contractors.) Whale watching was well worth it, IMHO, but we did this in Icy Strait to free up time in Juneau. We did Sled Dog Discovery & Musher's Camp through HAL (an absolute must IMHO if you're a dog person, since you get to play with the sled dogs and the new puppies afterwards) and then walked to the state capitol and governor's mansion and rode the Mt. Roberts tram on our own, and we were back on board just after 6:00, so there would have been time for more had we wanted to. In Ketchikan, we did the Rainforest Santuary Nature Walk, Totems & Eagles that you have listed and really enjoyed it. Our guides were knowledgeable and enthusiastic. This sanctuary is private property adjacent the Tongass National Forest and used to be for logging but is now a preservationist nonprofit. You might be there the right time of year to see the salmon runs and bears feeding on them. In Victoria, we booked the Butchart Gardens tour, but it was canceled when our port time was moved from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, so we did the Victoria Highlights bus tour instead. This was an enjoyable overview of the place with the limited time we had, but don't expect to get very good pictures in the dark while moving. Still, I'd recommend it if you had nothing else to do. If it's the same route, sit on the right side of the bus for the panoramic view from Mt. Tolme, and the left side of the bus for the best views of the provincial parliament and the Empress Hotel. (There's no room for the bus to turn around so both sides can see, unfortunately.) Let me know if you have any more specific questions while I can still remember all this. :)

We were there for about an hour, and that included gift shopping and waiting for weather to clear for me to take pictures. We got lucky though that there was no line when we arrived.

We did Sled Dog Discovery & Musher's Camp in Juneau; it's 2 1/2 hours and takes you to Douglas Island, only about half an hour away. My wife, her mother, and I all really enjoyed it, and it left plenty of time for exploring Juneau afterwards.

100% FCC in lieu of a refund, or in addition? If it's the former, then I concur, there's no rationale for taking the offer. I haven't personally seen anything of the sort on my cruise (Alaska roundtrip from Seattle on Eurodam).

That's just sad. You'd think they'd be bending over backwards to accommodate passengers who want to switch rather than dealing with the barrage of complaints afterwards. This is our last night aboard Eurodam. My parents have always sailed Princess, but I picked HAL this time due to the itinerary and price. I'm glad I did, or I'd probably be on Crown (it left Seattle around the same time as us).

Thanks all; it might be moot now since we don't seem to have room for it amid all the other souvenirs we bought. :)

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I got a bouquet for my wife upon embarkation, which she loves. I'm sure they aren't reusing the flowers, but can we take the vases with us too?