karatemom2

So apparently according to an update posted today cruises out of the UK and EU will no longer require documentation of a negative test. You are still required to test within the three days prior embarkation, but will only need to attest to a negative test on your preboarding health questionnaire. So I guess we could have saved the money we just spent for our expensive proctored tests for our upcoming British Isles cruise and just stuck with the regular run of the mill antigen test from the government. Oh well - still happy to see things getting a bit more relaxed! Updated today: Have vaccination and testing requirements changed with the recently implemented guidelines in the UK and EU? Unless otherwise communicated, all guests ages five and older must take a viral COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen) within three days prior to embarkation on the ship. This can be done at any time in the three days before on the day of embarkation. Guests no longer need to provide a test certificate, however they will be asked to confirm that the test has been taken, with a negative result, as part of the pre-boarding health declaration at the cruise terminal/airport. Guests under five years of age are exempt from pre-cruise testing. (Please note that these updated guidelines apply to the UK and EU but not to the U.S., Canada or Greece)

As someone who has been cruising with our kids on Princess for more than 15 years, I can assure you they have been marketing to families for a long time. You just may not have noticed if you aren’t a cruiser with kids. My kids literally grew up on Princess cruises - some of our best times and best memories! They are adults now and still cruise with us whenever possible. My husband and I are taking one of only a few cruises we have done without them in a few weeks on the Emerald in the British Isles. We are really looking forward to it but I will miss having them along. I hope we see some kids on board - I love to see families traveling together.

It’s called Poker Creek Gold on Creek St. in Ketchikan. https://sammcgeesalaska.com/poker-creek-gold/

Juneau Car Rental is the company we have rented from the past couple of years. They no longer have a kiosk at the dock, but will work with you to deliver the car to town for easy pick up and return. Avis no longer has an office in town - only out at airport.

Our Alaska cruise in May was amazing - Alaska was every bit as magical as I recalled and we enjoyed every second. Even though we ended up with COVID after we got home I don’t regret it. I figure at this rate with these contagious variants COVID was going to strike eventually. At least I picked it up on a fabulous vacation instead of a boring old trip to the supermarket!

We were in Ward Cove last year. We rented a car and drove all over - including to Ward Lake. It’s one of our favorite spots! The walk from port to Ward Lake would be pretty long - it’s quite a ways in from the main road and there are not sidewalks or even much room to walk in some places. There were a couple of taxis servicing the passengers - I would suggest using one of those to get you back and forth.

Yes, cruises do create the perfect environment for any illness to spread. Two plus years I dodged COVID, even working in a hospital. But we all tested positive after getting home from our cruise in May. It’s just so contagious and harder to avoid when you are in crowded places and also having fun on vacation which naturally leads to letting your guard down on precautions.

Yes. Omicron may be a milder variant but it still can make certain people very ill - the unvaccinated, the very elderly and people who are immunocompromised. Plus we have people who are hospitalized for other reasons who end up also testing positive. They count too. The very good news is that we are seeing less needing care in ICU and fewer deaths.

Quite frankly, COVID is just surging across the country. You could be traveling anywhere and see the same level of exposure. It’s not unique to Alaska or to cruises. I work in a hospital and our numbers are way up currently.

Yes. We spent about a little over hour but that included time in the small museums and gift shop. If you focus your time on the puppy and animal area that amount of time should be fine.

I would second the car rental suggestion. You can do the beautiful drive on the Yukon Highway. Head to Caribou Crossing and enjoy playing with the puppies!

My husband takes his own gear and just buys the fishing license online. You can go on your own to the hatchery and fish right there on the dock to your hearts content. No excursion needed!!

Haines is not a touristy town and cruise ships don’t stop regularly so there isn’t a thriving tour demand there where it would support tours sold at the dock as you sometimes find in other towns. There also aren’t a lot of restaurants. It’s a small, authentic Alaska town - very quaint with some interesting shops and historic Fort Seward as it’s focal point. If you don’t book through the ship or track down a private tour in advance, I wouldn’t count on finding anything available at the pier. Getting there at those odd hours might make it hard to rent a car, but if you can find a tour that takes you out to Chilkoot Lake that’s a great place to sometimes see bears during the salmon run. Other than that, I would suggest eating early on the ship and spend a nice evening roaming the town.

Yes. The experience and what you see on each are very different. It may be the same route but being able to stop along the way on the road trip offers an entirely different experience. Plus on the road trip you can go much further into the Yukon. You have time to do both if you have a nice long port day.

How about doing both? The train only goes to the Summit right now so just a two hour round trip. If you have a long day in Skagway which is usually the case you still have plenty of time to do the drive into the Yukon. You will get the best of both worlds! We were in Skagway in May and rented from Avis. They open really early. You could pick up your car, park it, do the train trip and then do the road trip after.

I think you can legitimately be critical of a product without being “disloyal”. We truly enjoyed our cruise in the Royal in May but I am so sympathetic to people who have had horrible experiences on the Crown. They have every right to be disappointed in Princess. I don’t blame them for being upset. We had a very bad experience with Princess a few years back and at that moment I swore I would never give them another penny. So we continued to try other lines, but eventually we came back to Princess because in general it has proven to be the best fit for us. It isn’t perfect but we still generally enjoy our cruises. That doesn’t mean blind loyalty, however, and we have also very much enjoyed our cruises on RCI, NCL, HAL and Carnival and will continue to branch out when price or itinerary are optimal.

Our kids have traveled with us on cruises since they were little. They are adults now. We always picked up after them and were considerate. This seems like a bit of an unfair and judgmental comment regarding families on cruises. Most parents we have met on our cruises are very considerate and engaged and no more cause for concern from a room steward then any other passenger. Not sure what you are implying with this observation. Plus, the steward receives additional gratuities for each person in the room, including children, so a room with four people is much more lucrative and likely not that much more work. Perhaps a cabin steward with many children in his or her section would be thrilled as they will be receiving higher compensation.

I personally love turn down service. I don't go on a cruise to feel like I'm at home. Part of what you are choosing in a cruise vacation is a certain level of pampering and coming back to your room in the evening to find your bed nicely turned down and room and bathroom freshened is part of the pleasure of the experience. I don't need it to feel special - I just enjoy that extra level of service which I have come to expect as part of the cruising experience. Also, we often travel with family and use the pull down bunk or fold out couch. Those are things that require a certain level of service - putting them up and pulling them out each morning and evening. On our last cruise on the Royal in May, our Steward let us know the first day that turndown service was optional and asked if we wanted it - we confirmed that we did. It may not be for everyone, and if you don't need or want it, by all means skip it. But there is nothing wrong with those who enjoy it still receiving it if it is offered. And yes, I miss the chocolates too.

I believe this is the case for all northbound and southbound Alaska cruises. This was not a requirement when we sailed from Vancouver on May 2, but has since been initiated for those itineraries. I'm assuming that's still in place, but would be curious if it is really being enforced.

This must be the case. I know for a fact that fellow passengers who we met and talked with personally boarded in Hilo and Princess handled all of the arrangements. So there must be a way to make it happen. Maybe Princess pays whatever fine is involved. But it does happen.

In all honesty, any travel right now puts you at risk for COVID, whether it be by airplane or cruise ship. You are just as likely to be exposed onboard as on an excursion. Most people are no longer wearing masks. Even on ship excursions where it is supposed to be required on shuttles and buses, based on our experience it is not enforced. We came home from our Alaska cruise and tested positive two days later, although in retrospect my throat started feeling a little scratchy the last full day, so I was probably already coming down with it even though I tested negative for our flight home. We could have been exposed on the ship or on an excursion - we will never know. It was rampant on the ship as it turns out though, so it was likely onboard. About 75 percent of our roll call ended up positive after the cruise. It's just a reality we have to face if we choose to travel right now, unfortunately. But, there is no required testing for excursions or even flying home now, so you really don't need to worry about that.

Seems like the main reason I have seen for people sticking with Crown is that the itinerary includes Glacier Bay, which I understand because it is something not to be missed. But given the current situation, I don't think even Glacier Bay would convince me to stick. I would move over and enjoy Tracy Arm Fjord or Endicott instead.

See my reply above. I'm no expert - but I do speak from experience. Passengers that we have personally known and with whom we interacted were able to board in Hawaii and complete the trip. As I said, maybe it is because Ensenada would be a far foreign port for what essentially had become a Hawaii to LA itinerary for them. Regardless, it can and has been done. This would be true for SF as well as those cruises stop in Ensenada too. Princess has figured out a way to make it possible. That is all I'm pointing out.

Interesting - well it's true, it isn't far from LA, but it is far from Hawaii, so maybe that is how they get around it for people who end up boarding there and in essence doing a Hawaii to LA cruise. I just know on at least three of our Hawaii cruises we met passengers who either boarded or had family board in Hawaii. We always traveled at Christmas, so weather was always an issue. The one family I referenced was doing a huge extended family trip and only one family who was from CA made it onboard. The rest were all traveling from Canada and missed the ship, even though the Captain held up departure as long as possible because so many travelers were delayed. We got to know them quite well on the 5 days over - they were so happy to get to Hilo and have the rest of the family get on the ship - it was actually Christmas day. I will never forget walking through the terminal where you exit at Hilo and seeing the long line of people with their bags waiting to board the ship. So whatever the mechanism or allowance, at least for Hawaii cruises I know for a fact it can be done. And there were no financial penalties for the passengers. In fact, Princess flew them to Hilo and paid for their hotel which I thought was really wonderful.

Not a violation - the foreign port for West Coast Hawaii cruises is Ensenada which Is generally the last day so passengers can board in Hawaii without being in violation. We saw this several times on our Hawaii cruises. Once a whole group traveling from Canada boarded in Hilo because they missed flights due to bad weather.