ColoradoMom!!

I really appreciate the information that explains why in one place it says confirmed, and then on the next page shows a waitlist number - thanks so much for clearing that up.

I am going to tag on another question however. We are confirmed on a Coral Alaska for TD at 5:45. ( if it ends up being 6 or 5:30, we don't really care)

However, if we know we cannot make that one evening, can we "do" anytime? Do we have to call - as I understand anytime does not mean just show up anytime, but that a reservation must be made? If I cannot do Anytime since I am confirmed and wish to keep TD overall, does that mean that I cannot dine in a MDR unless I use my traditional time?

Thanks!!

Hi there :) Our favorite day of our whole land/ cruise vacation was our day at Mantanuska Glacier. It’s about a 2 hour drive from Anchorage and simple to navigate. You can take a guided tour ON the glacier with crampons and poles and it was thrilling!! We used Mantanuska Glacier Adventures for our tour

OP here - Thanks ! Both you and SightCRR recommend this. Thanks for adding the name of the tour CO too!

So many fun choices!

What company and location are you using for the car rental?

Found a great rate through AVIS - booked directly for their downtown location. It will be about $100 for a 24 hour period - a van for 4 of us - but much better than the airport rate.

SORRY to bring up an old thread - so many of my questions were answered here, but I just have a few more.

Does Princess ever offer these train transfers officially to people not on the land cruise?

I am all ready to do the train into Whittier morning of my cruise - but am still a little nervous about slapping my princess luggage tag on and hoping it shows up. I just get in line in front of the little white tent I hear about, and follow the crowd? Will they be able to tell that I wasn't on the land cruise?

Also - if I have just one little 6 pack of soda that I have tagged - are they willing to take that at this drop site?

Thanks!!

WOW - I am so excited about doing a tour out of Whittier the day of our cruise! I think we will ditch the princess transfers and use the train and head over to either Phillips or Major Marine (any opinions welcome).

Never would have known about that option even though I read a lot here - thanks BQ and others!

Still deciding what to do on our full day (Tuesday) before we head over to Whittier on Wed . Wondering if I should skip the Wildlife Conservation Center since we are heading that direction on Wed. in favor of seeing another area out of Anchorage. More posts always welcome!

Thanks again!!

Thanks for all the great replies and GORGEOUS pictures SC BEAR.

So Budget Queen - what you are saying is that on our cruise day, instead of taking the Princess transfer bus - take a tour that includes transportation to Whittier, and we can stay and board after? That would be pretty great

We loved the Promenade deck. Following suggestions on these boards, we went all the way forward (you go up a short flight of stairs) to a covered deck (important if it happens to be raining) that wasn't very crowded, where we could easily see both sides of the ship as it rotated.

Beautiful picture by the way.

Do these directions work on the Coral?

We are on the Emerald Deck -far forward - so this sounds like a great place for us, but I am not sure if you are referring to the Ruby .

Renting from Downtown for a day is a good option!! I just thought since it was so $$ from the airport, that it would be the same for downtown - not true - hurray!

SO - I have wheels and a full day - bring on the ideas!

THANKS

Thanks for the replies!

I need to look at car rental from downtown Anchorage - renting from the airport and dropping off downtown for Monday - Wednesday was $400, and that was through big box. So I had ruled that out.

We have transfers from the Egan center to Whittier through Princess which doesn't seem like it would allow us enough time on Wed. to do a glacier tour. Maybe I need to reconsider where we stay and not do the princess transfers?

We don't have the time or the $$ to do much before our SB Cruise from Whittier to Vancouver on Princess. I have read so many wonderful reports of the Land Cruise portion, but it just isn't in the cards for us. So no need to tell me that I need to spend more time. Instead, I would love to hear about a day trip you have taken.

We fly in Monday afternoon, have all day Tuesday for this side mini trip, and leave on the cruise on Wednesday.

We probably need a trip with transportation since we plan to use the hotel airport shuttle when we arrive.

The Wildlife Conservatory looks good. The ATV tour I read about on TripAdvisor looks wonderful but too $$ - over $300 per person.

Thanks for any insights!

"BUYER BEWARE!!

We have been purchasing trip insurance through InsureMyTrip and Nationwide for years. On Dec. 16, our flight was canceled meaning we could not reach our cruise destination of San Juan and had to meet the cruise a day later in St. Kitts. I felt sure our trip interruption portion of our policy would cover the cost of missing one day of a very expensive holiday cruise. Wow, was I wrong. When I called Nationwide, I was told unless the airport is completely shut down, the cancellation of a flight is not covered. I called InsureMyTrip to speak with someone about this. I was told, "Sorry you're not happy. Have a great day."

Never Ever Again!!!

 

Read every word of the fine print."

WOW - I would have thought that would be covered - your flight was canceled - not like you missed it - you never had a chance!

I have a similarly located room on the Coral. It is an Alaskan Southbound in late June. What are the chances of moving cabins around final payment dates, and perhaps people cancel? I booked directly, so I can call. The port side balcony cabins were hard to find - and I am guessing this is a popular ship/ itinerary and time.

We are going with friends who said the Taku Lodge Float Plane excursion through Princess was their favorite - in Juneau I believe.

Has anyone done this one in particular?

thanks

I just did that. Booked a cruise on the princess website to get my preferred cabin on the day it was released. I called my TA to transfer the cruise to her. She filled out the form for a transfer. Princess ended up cancelling the cruise instead of transferring it. By the time we realized this someone else booked my cabin. We ended up rebooking with a less desirable cabin.

WOW - is this common? Sorry to dig up an older thread, but I did a search instead of creating a new thread.

I have already booked directly with Princess. I was planning to transfer to a TA or Big Box, but his info. has me stunned.

At first I was thinking -- "Maybe you should book a higher category?"

 

:)

Very Funny!

I enjoyed your blog - thanks!

I must say that doing the Alcatraz tour was one of the best tours I have ever done. I remembered it from High School ( as in the 80's) - and took my husband and kids in 2012. I think the audio tour with the voices of the inmates and officers, etc. was so intriguing. My boys loved it! We went into the isolation/complete darkness cell also. Just one of my favorite tours of all time - sooo interesting and well done.

SO happy I found your review! I am just starting to plan our 2018 Alaska cruise, and this is so helpful!

You are a darling couple - congrats! I appreciate your time in writing a review. You will never know how many people read it and enjoy sharing your experiences and insights!