wetcoastmom

You can find the docking berth for most ships at this link:

 

http://claalaska.com/?page_id=1551

 

Look at the Berth Codes to determine where you are scheduled to be docked. This is usually accurate, but changes do occur.

 

Most larger ships use the Old Sitka Dock (OSS) and buses run throughout the day to take you to / from the visitor’s center downtown. From there you can catch shuttles to Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center and it’s just a block or so to walk downtown.

 

 

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By chance do you know what dock ISD is? That's what is listed on the Berth codes. I'm just trying to figure out how far that dock is and if there will be a way to get from there to the visitor's center.

I would think that you could see most of what Sitka has to offer, assuming you're there a full day, maybe 8 to 5 or whatever - unless you do a long excursion like a wildlife boat trip. The distances aren't great, but if you want to go to the Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center (and same shuttles go to both) that will take almost half the day. You may have to wait a little for each shuttle; not sure, but keep that in mind!

Will the same round trip shuttle cover both Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center?

In my experience as a person who eats virtually zero carbs, HAL is very reliable about leaving things OUT of your meals. I wouldn't count on them to include ingredients not normally carried in the galley.

I don't eat carbs either. Do you usually ask for meat to be prepared 'naked'? On a zero carb group, some people suggested ordering meats that way so they don't come draped in sauces, sugared spices etc.

Thanks for the clarification!

We too usually travel with carry on and a small item, but we will not be flying to get to our cruise.

It is cooler than it was a few weeks ago, partly due to the smoke, but it is still fairly warm in Seattle and Victoria. We are assuming that we will need some warm layers, rain jacket and shoes for potential mud up north so I just wanted to check. My kids are a bit older now and so there may not be as much room to stuff extra items in their bags

So are the gyms not open until 7am on the Alaska cruises now?

The ship never really felt over crowded but the seats were always full in the movie and shows by the time they started. The only spot that felt crowded was the area around the piano bar during the evening when he was performing.

 

The gala nights were Monday and Friday. They didn’t tell us until we got on the ship but someone on this board mentioned that those would likely be the gala nights and she was right.

 

We aren’t fancy either and while some people were dressed up it was pretty much smart casual - no jeans - even on the gala nights. The rest of the nights jeans were fine but no shorts. I had kind of worried a bit since I have young adults and were are from SoCal but we were all fine. 10 years ago on the Oosterdam during the holidays every night was much dressier than we were this time.

When I booked my cruise I asked about the gala nights and she said it was not very formal and that pants that were not jeans and a collared shirt were fine. Somewhere I read that they try to group similar dressed people together and perhaps this refers to those who like to wear cocktail dresses and suits which is not typical west coast at all.

Just curious if HAL had denied your daughter boarding; I assume you would have just sent her home on her own?

 

Especially since you were a big group. Just amazing that people forget passports.

I am constantly quadruple checking that I have all documents for the family secured on my body before leaving home.

My mother's uncle who loved to travel and didn't speak a word of English used to say you can go anywhere with a passport and a credit card; but you should never leave home without those two items. His argument was that forgotten things could be bought with a credit card, but missing passport would be a huge problem.

Now, even though I had booked through my United Frequent Flyer airlines, we were flying on Air Canada. This was a bit nerve-wracking as I am a mildly anxious person and new things make me nervous! Why was the idea of flying on Air Canada making me nervous? I HAVE NO IDEA! It just was. I think it was the unknown. Will they have movies on demand on board? Will there be anything that I actually want to watch? Will there be anything my kids want to watch? Will they serve food? Will they all speak French?

With a name like Grenouille, I would have though you spoke French ;p

No worries. You will have a great cruise, trust me. Another hint, try the Pinnacle Lunch for $10. Even on Hubbard Day. We ate @ Noon, was done @ 1pm and we didn't actually get to the Glacier until 3pm. Another Hint. You see the approach to Hubbard on the way out, just in reverse. Sun is usually up by later in the day and all of the glacier watchers are fully worn out. Best time to appreciate it in my opinion. Hubbard will blow you away. Just saying!

Does the Pinnacle Lunch have to be booked? Are there different choices for $10?

Are the fantail rolls spicy?

How cold was it? I'm assuming Seattle and Victoria were pretty warm since our weather is pretty much the same.

Was it warm enough for shorts or capris in places other than Seattle and Victoria?

The seas might be rougher on the outside of Vancouver Island, but at the moment the air is probably clear since there are a ton of fires and from looking at the fire map, the inside passage might be quite smoky.

Is the idea that we can carry on a bag similar size to airline carry on? or must that be checked in? (or whatever the process is)

I found a thread about carrying on a purse, backpack and shopping bag. Would I be able to carry on a purse, small backpack (daypack) and an airplane size carry on?

Unless the OP is from the coast of Washington state, in which case wet makes perfect sense. ;)

We are from the Pacific Northwest and although it is sunny and smoky right now, 11 months of the year it is rainy. ;p

The rooms are down the hall from each other (about 10 rooms apart). If I have it right, they want an adult to be legally responsible for the teens in the room, but obviously regardless of the time of day our teens will happily hang out together and we will do our own thing and arrange to meet up a couple of times a day to keep tabs on them.

If there is no arcade, that is totally fine by us since we are happy to have an electronic free vacation.

We have 2 rooms for our family of 5. It was booked with one adult and two teens in each room. Will it be a problem if we switch around where we sleep? Our 3 teens are responsible and will quite happily spend their time going from food to arcade to pool etc and we will meet up for meals to check in with them.