PennyAgain

United is enforcing these rules now.... hope that it lasts well into the future.

The sticking point for some of us in medical equipment and supplies which we do not want to check but take up space. United is looking at this issue on a case by case basis.

For people who only fly now and then, this is going to be a hard adjustment. Lots of delays in line and arguing.

Visitors to the Anchorage area often say that they feel slightly dizzy or unwell when in fact it is little earthquakes that cause them to feel uneasy.

The larger earthquakes leave no doubt what they are.

Just a fact of life in much of Alaska.

Many people are surprised to find that it is not easy to buy land in Alaska and thus a house that is in poor condition might be the best way to get your hands on the lot.

Or not.

One of the houses shown on the programs has been on other house buying shows about Alaska and would be a very expensive house to live in. I know where it is and find the limited/seasonal view of the water to be a negative factor.

Yes, Eagle River has some beautiful areas.

All that fuss about bears when the bears are there and are a fact of life. Can't tell you how much 'fun' it is to unload groceries from you car and then make your way up to your house.

Some countries allow no food at all of any sort to come off a ship. You should get instructions on the daily bulletin delivered to your room on your ship.

I watched this program on Sunday night and found it interesting but not all that helpful for travel information. One of the houses featured is not very far from a relative's house. House prices in Alaska are high for sure and the logical size of a residence is usually on the small size due to the high cost of heating.

Also any house with skylights will not have much additional light from them in winter and the snow cover blocks the light.

Each of the houses shown last night were far larger and fancier than what my family has had.

Most of the pianos on cruise ships are locked when not in professional use. Many ships have even locked the pianos in the suites as other suite passengers complained too much.

Gone are the days when you could wander around a ship and play pianos as I did long ago on the old, loved Queen Elizabeth 2.

It really doesn't matter what sort of music you wish to play, it will be very hard to find a piano you are allowed to use.

Cruise ships also have rules about bring along your own instruments even if you don't intend to play on board.

How early do you mean when you say "early June"? I assume on/after June 8th since camper buses really don't start until then.

 

I absolutely disagree with the above information. How many of the posters on this thread have been on camper buses, and especially this first morning departure from Wonder Lake? I have been on it more times than I can count on two hands.

 

1 - you CAN take a camper bus with a shuttle bus ticket. You just can't start at the WAC on a camper bus unless you are camping. But after it leaves the WAC, it is fair game to anyone with a camper or shuttle bus ticket if there are open seats. It is included in the "any green bus" that shuttle bus ticket holders may board.

 

2 - shuttle bus times on the schedule are the EARLIEST times they will depart from those stops. They are required to wait until those times and not depart earlier (occasionally a driver violates this rule, but it is very rare). They might be late. But if you switch to the earliest camper bus that departs Wonder Lake about 6.30am it is scheduled to arrive at the WAC at 11.20am. Even if it is two hours late it will be back by 2pm. That is a very dependable arrival time for the most part. It goes directly from Wonder Lake to the WAC (not through Kantishna) and besides those who board at Wonder Lake it generally only picks up backcountry campers (day trippers won't be too far into the park yet as you see from the schedule you looked at). It is never full either. They make few stops en route for wildlife sightings since most on the bus sleep or chat for a good ways and are not looking for wildlife. Plus, there usually are very few people on this bus, so fewer eyes to spot wildlife. I am often on this bus and have never, ever seen it close to full. Now the camper bus that departs Wonder Lake at 8am is a totally different story - very often that one is full. But not the 6.30am departure.

 

Also, when you board the bus at the WAC (or better yet at the Tek rest stop), tell your driver that you are planning on taking the camper bus back to the entrance. If your bus is late heading into the park, he will flag down the camper bus so you can transfer to it when it passes.

 

YES this is VERY doable.

There is a lot of good information in this post. I have reversed direction and waited for a passing shuttle bus to get a ride and it doesn't matter which sort of shuttle bus happens to come along if there is a seat for you. You get on and ride.

But I would be nervous if I had to catch up with a departing cruise tour and would make sure I had plenty of time to do so.

Be very careful of the phase 'Russian Tea' as in many parts of Alaska it is not at all what you are thinking about. Read the details.

Often in Alaska if you order Russian tea it is a very sweet mixture of all sorts of things including (more than likely) instant tea.

If a Russian Orthodox church is doing a Russian Tea event, it will be real, actual brewed tea in the Russian fashion. Likely to be offered in a glass with sugar. (The glasses are usually in metal holders so you won't get scalded).

My late mother was quite an expert on various sorts of teas and tea presentations and in her later years made anice living teaching fancy hotels how to do tea properly.

Bing or Google and define what you want to have.

I recently attended a large business meeting in the USA that lasted 6 days from arrival to departure. Noro virus ran through the meeting like a bad dream.

The last day of the meeting I wasn't feeling well and felt very tired. I got very sick on the drive home.

I doesn't just happen on cruise ships!

The cruise lines are now very up to date on Rum Runners and have gotten very good at spotting them in checked baggage.

When they sieze a Rum Runner you don't get it back at the end of the cruise. So you loose both the contents and the Rum Runner. Not worth the bother any more.

As stated above you must carry on items (especially medicines) that you can't live without. On critical items, I carry on a double amount such as with hearing aid batteries. I carry on two of the packs of 10 which weight next to nothing.

I never, ever put items that I can't live without or items of major value in my checked luggage.

I carry on a complete change of underwear and a clean blouse. Learned the hard lesson about having a clean blouse when I spilled tea on the blouse I was wearing and had no spare.

I carry on a packet of dry skin facial wipes so I can tidy up on long flights. Helps me feel better.

My carry on bag fully packed and my purse weigh less than 17 pounds. When I have to I can put my purse into my carry on bag (some airlines only allow you ONE item which can be your purse OR your carry on bag.

I carry on my own eye shades.

Sorry, but many two-cabin flights in America have the front cabin designated as "Business". This is usually because a) it is a flight number continuation of an international flight. Change of gauge to a smaller aircraft, but same flight number, or b) the flight connects to international traffic, so to cater to corporate accounting types, they make the front cabin "business". An example are DL flights into JFK which time to connect to TATL wide-bodies.

 

So you will find "Business" offered within the US, even on two cabin acft.

This is true for many reasons but not the least is the fact that many companies will pay for business class but not first class.

Qantas monitors and enforces its own weight limits on carry on baggage. There is no 'carry over' from another airline.

I always travel with some cleaning wipes. I clean up the door handles especially the ones on the bathroom and the telephone, tv remote control and any other shared items.

I have traveled a great deal for many years and have never seen a hotel room clearner clean the door handles.

Better to be safe than sorry.

My sweet husband will only cruise is the ship is going to a destination he wants to visit. I have a list of places he wants to see and seek out cruises (that he sees as comfortable transportation) and it works out for us.

Wow, thanks for the quick responses and links. Will keep you posted!

 

Jan

Speaking for all, you are quite welcome!

Best of luck for your travels.

There is a Disabled Cruise Travel topic on Cruise Critic that has an ongoing thread on this subject. This thread is monitored by people who are experts on traveling with a service dog.

There is a serious risk if a person has legs extended into the aisle. The beverage/food carts are heavy. Getting hit by one of those could be a life changer/trip destroyer. You need to keep your legs under the seat in front of you.

You have no chance to get a meal upgrade, but you can buy food in the airport once past security to take on board.

Dengue Fever is seasonal (now is the season!). My husband got it while at Martinique for a 2 week long stay during January about 30 years ago. He was so ill he was afraid that he would not be allowed back in the USA when his plane landed in Miami.

It is nasty!

I am extremely allergic to shell fish. I often have to do a lot of explaining. Got into trouble recently in a fine restaurant when the rice was cooked in the water used to boil shrimp.

I advise being very open and the issue and ask many questions and demand the correct answers.

Over several months you can acquire many AA miles by various means including AA eshopping and credit cards. Sign up for the correct new AA credit card might well get you a big load of AA miles.

Keep in mind that many people will be taking the same or similar cruise to yours and may well have the same ideas about getting AA tickets. I wouldn't miss too many chances to get the tickets/seats you desire.

I used the Purex 3 in 1 laundry sheets for years with no problems but can't find them to purchase any more.

I take pieces of a Zote bar for hand laundry and Kirkland (Costco) laundry pods for machine washing.

You can put laundry pods into your checked baggage.

A good test when in a shop is to ask the clerk when he/she arrived and when he/she is due to depart. Cruise company owned shop employees come and go with the season.

I also ask if they know my Gran Elizabeth. If they say yes, then I'm suspiciaous as she died long ago.

I never have good luck at LAX. On my most recent international flight arrival my checked bag was very late coming in. It was the last bag from my flight to appear. I refused to go on to my connecting flight without seeing that bag, clearing US Customs with it and doing the rechecking.

I always want more time in such a situation and often need it.

Bumping this thread as it has valuable info for this holiday season.