SoloAlaska

Alaskan cruises are generally a little more casual. Think ll bean or patagonia style . You’ll want a range of clothing from shorts to warm sweaters and don’t forget a rain jacket for July in Alaska. Lots of info on what to pack on the Alaska board mentioned. My first cruise was to Alaska and I was hooked.

All depends on where you’re cruising from. MCT I hear does but I avoid Caribbean cruises as much as possible.

I also recommend RCI for this. The only reason I am cruising RCI is for a family trip but it really is the one that is best for multi generational cruising like this.

We did this for our March 2025 cruise. Put my friends name down and just waiting to figure out who that extra person would be. We booked almost 2 years out and 3 of us were single. The question is which one will have a SO 3 months before the cruise.

So one thing people don’t realize is there are infants who are potty trained. My niece has only had a handful of dirty diapers since she was a few weeks old. Finding clothes that fit was not easy because everything was meant for diapers. She also has a pool at home and will ask for someone to take her to the washroom while she’s swimming because she has to go pee.

Have yet to see one of these boarding numbers when starting a cruise. Only time I saw one was when we went to port early in NYC and needed to reach zero before everyone could go back on.

I start watching at 10 months but try to buy before 6 months for international. In that period I try to wait for a seat sale or bonus points deal. Flights have just gotten insanely expensive lately. For North America I start at 8 months and try to buy before 4 months.

I just got an Air Canada Amex. Typically I fly with them and the card gives lounge access in NA and first piece of luggage free up to 9 people on the same reservation. Plus the travel insurance is perfectly adequate for me so the savings will be quite high.

Make sure you give yourself extra time in case the train runs late. I haven’t taken that particular section in many years but via rail does not run as smoothly as European trains. Plan to arrive in Quebec City a few hours earlier than required just in case.

Crossing fingers over here as well. Hopefully it was an outlier.

Ok now that sounds absolutely incredible. Great option 3. Enjoy Iceland.

Azores is the one port that made me want to go there for a few weeks. Frequently it is missed due to weather though. I find it very entertaining when people ask if there enough on these massive ships to do to not be bored. I did my first TA on a ship much smaller and never felt bored. Bring a book, pack a portable hobby, enjoy the quiet days at sea. That’s what makes a TA so special. The cruise direct and their team works very hard to constantly hold a range of events on sea days. Barcelona is a really cool city as well. I wish I had had more time to spend there but for me it was just another port stop.

Maybe new but it wasn’t the case in December on the TA of Gem. Bingo would sometimes run past 5pm in the spinnaker but there was no deal or no deal after dinner time.

It’s one of the most hiked trails in Skagway from what I’ve been told. I hike solo in Alaska, just follow normal precautions for bears and general safety. Talk or sing to make sure bears know your around, don’t wear headphones, tell someone where your going etc. I added a screenshot of the trail map from AllTrails, love that app for finding trails and getting detailed information.

@Heidi13 thank you for sharing so much technical info on here. Usually I just enjoy the view if it’s there but now you have me going back to my good old days and wanting to research ride schedules again. I use to work on some of the highest tides in the world so it brings back memories.

Ok I’ll just suggest a few things that only take 30 minutes to an hour to complement your excursions. If you have a little more time in Skagway I’ve heard good things about Yakutania point hike which starts by one of the docks and only takes 30 minutes and is quite easy. If salmon are running when you’re in Ketchikan I recommend you take the time to go see Creek Street. The salmon and seals alone are worth the visit but there’s also some cute shops and historic buildings there.

I much prefer set dining time. If by chance I’ll be later then I will either schedule specialty dining or go to the buffet that night. Most nights I want to have that level of service that comes from set dining and always having the same server. “Freestyle dining” is the thing I dislike from NCL, I wish they had the option for traditional dining.

That’s when I call my uncle for his credit card number 😂. Well I’m not from the US so this is particularly true if I get injured or sick in the US. Most other destinations are a lot cheaper if something happens but the US is brutally expensive and none of my credit card limits go nearly as high as they may need to go

Prices are up for flights unless there is a decent sale. We’ve notice almost a 30% increase on some of our flights year over year.

I’ve only flown Alaska a few times but never noticed them checking. Now I do have two suggestions. First is don’t try to fill it, if they see the zipper stretched they are more likely to check the size because usually that means it’s over. The other is if you can offer to gate check it. This way you still get free luggage but they won’t check the size if you offer for it to go in the belly at the gate.

My flight to my last cruise had a connection in Iceland. When volcanos started erupting I could have worried about if I needed to pay for a new flight if the airport was shut down. I however knew I had insurance that would cover me which took the stress away. I am a younger and moderately healthy solo traveller and the peace of mind insurance offers is worth the cost. I travel 4-6 times a year for a week or more plus quick visits out of country since I live close to the border. An annual policy makes sense. Now I am looking at switch to a travel credit card with similar coverage but honestly the annual fees is more than my insurance premium. If I do not take advantage of the other benefits it would make no sense.

I will second the practise suggestion. Every year at my industry tradeshow someone gets injured by a scooter. One year it was a little girl who had her leg broken in multiple places because some woman ran her over. It takes time to learn how to operate a scooter safely.

Omg this is a fun calculator. 10 drinks over 10 hours gives me a 0.12. Now to go calculate with my project weight for my upcoming cruise. Great part about cruising is not driving anywhere, woohoo.

How many consecutive sea days is it? I think my max number is 6 no matter the size of the ship.

I’m so sorry to hear that. When I was GF the options were almost non existed and quite horrible tasting and way over priced when you could find them. I use to drive over 2 hours in order to buy a loaf of frozen bread. My exposure to GF cruising was Celebrity and I was impressed at the options and the person who was very sensitive to any cross contamination had no issues. It’s unfortunate Holland does not offer the same level of service. Know there are people who take it seriously out there. Because someone isn’t Celiac doesn’t mean it’s just a lifestyle choice. There are people who have intolerance that are very severe like mine was.