SoloAlaska

The clients on porter have changed over the last 10 years. It use to be people flying for business meetings and things went smoothly. Now porter is becoming a destination for budget travellers and it can be a hot mess.

Flew reserve out of Vancouver in September and it was the worst airport experience. The airport maps were out of date so just finding the desk was hard. They also don’t prioritize check in for reserve like their suppose to. Customer service was horrible. The good parts though were the food onboard.

In Alaska I was at the rail early and one of the last to leave… I’m tough and can handle the cold. No way am I giving up my spot but I’ll lean out of the way for someone’s photo and offer to take a photo of them because I am nice that way.

People will still tip, others will not. It’s up to you. Huge debate on here but do what feels right to you.

Yes NCL is a pretty casual line. No you can’t carry water onboard. Yes you can bring wine but you will be charged a corkage fee upon boarding

It’s one of my favorite ports. All the salmon and seals at creek street make me so happy I can spend an hour just watching them. Ketchikan is at the end of my cruise which by then I know I’ll be more than happy to just avoid buses. Chances are I’ll either do a hike or just stay on the ship and relax.

… waiting… there really isn’t any waiting at Civi from my experience. Pretty sure part of the process was separate for Haven but I’m not sure about luggage drop off and security. I only remember signs for Haven after that which had zero lines anyways.

2 years ago on Celebrity my favorite scotch was $11 but last year it jumped to $15. Year one I was happy, year two I was not at all. Also note the price wasn’t really written anywhere. I assumed it was close to the same as the price before.

I heard somewhere that they sell Ketchicandies at the pier. They make incredible chocolates that I bought in town last year. This is the one thing I want to buy from Ketchikan so if I can get it right there I won’t even need to go into town. Ketchikan is such a nice place to walk around though so Ward Cove will probably be a let down. ill be there the last few days of the season (very end of September) so some shops will already be closed sadly. But there will be lots of sales.

Fairfield MIGHT have a shuttle. When we stayed there the shuttle was booked for someone who had a special package and so everyone staying there got to enjoy the shuttle for free. We only stayed there for 4 hours since our flights were late coming in but it was a good experience and an amazing shuttle driver. The same driver picked us up from the airport and was the one to bring us to the train hours later.

Or a westbound transatlantic

In Canada it’s not an issue to get US singles from the bank teller but if they don’t have enough it can be ordered in which usually takes 2-3 days. Casino or guest services though will be able to help out.

And no one is going to make you. The nice thing is there are options for everyone. I have done it both ways and prefer carry on only but with more weight allowance.

Thank you everyone for this. My grandmother will have a rollator on our big family cruise next year. We are currently shopping for her first one and keeping the trip in mind.

So if you’re transiting through you can either go through the “normal” area with people coming in or the transit area if you flew into Montreal from another part of Canada. The transit area isn’t open as many hours but usually saves you from walking as far. In the end the customs area is shared but they have a separate area for security type screening and the lineup is separate for customs as well. Toronto has the same type of setup but also limited hours.

It still can be done but a lightweight backpack helps. Doing laundry is essential.

This one covers one other person on the same reservation. The flight is direct and not codeshare. I avoid connections and choose taking the train when needed. I love reading fine print.

Hotels in some areas have gotten ridiculously expensive. Anchorage Alaska a decent hotel is over $400 a night and upwards of $600. I booked it with credit card points since I could beat spending that much on 3star hotel. Luggage fees are getting so expensive I’m looking at getting an Amex that includes free first piece of luggage plus lounge access. Saving on an overpriced airport meal and drinks plus a piece of luggage will pay the annual fee very quickly with how much I travel. i search for flights and hotels on Kayak and love the price tracker tools. Try finding hotels with free shuttles which atleast save you one Uber/taxi ride. Totally agree go to Europe it’s cheaper hotels and sometimes even cheaper flights plus the train is cheap and easy to get around. Pick a cheaper airport to flight out of if you can. It’s cheaper for me to drive to Montreal and fly from there sometimes than flying from Ottawa so I always look at both options.

This is tight and Montreal isn’t always the easiest airport to transfer through. There is usually only one security scanner which can easily cause delays. This may have changed since I now avoid transiting through Montreal since they lost all my luggage. You should be able to go through the transit lane and not general public hopefully at that time of day.

Sounds right. I’ve even calculated on some flights that premium or business class was cheaper with all the extras. It’s not always the case but doing your research is key. I’m now even looking at a new credit card because it would give me free luggage.

I’ll be in Brussels in 30 days but not on a cruise. Brussels is a big hub for train travel so I would look into that. i looked at the train schedule and from the port to Brussels it says 1h20 approximately so definitely much better than going by bus.

Once you book flights you’ll need to then arrange transfer between Rome (or the airport) and Civitaveccia which is where the port is. You can do a private transfer, cruise ship transfer, or you can take the train. Look on the Italy board for more info. Most of the other questions you should be asking on the Royal Caribbean board. There is a daily fee which counts as “tips” but a lot of people also tip above and beyond that. These discussions are constant on CC. Excursions a lot of new cruisers book through the cruise line because you are guaranteed the ship will wait if your delayed. I find getting an eSIM card in Europe is the most affordable way to use data especially on port heavy cruises. Disconnecting onboard is something I look forward to even for a few hours. If you have iPhones they work for text at sea (atleast they do with some cruise lines).

You will be absolutely fine. Boarding will probably start by noon based on other transfers.

I’d expect most passenger will board between 12 and 5. My last cruise from Seward was Celebrity and sail away was 8pm. We were one of the late ones boarding at 5. The ship arrives at 5 am according to the schedule so it’s not a late arrival.

The massage I had during my cruise was honestly the worse massage in my life but also the most expensive. The sales tactic wasn’t as bad as others mention which was good. Honestly it felt like a bad massage chair pushing in places that should be pushed and not even touching entire areas that needed attention. Next cruise I am planning on trying out the thermal experience however. It will be Alaska in late September and I will be hiking a lot. The goal is to relax tired muscles and warm up.