sherryf

I live in the Seattle area and I don't think I even own an umbrella. Even working outside (recess duty, etc.) for about 1.5 hours every day, I don't use an umbrella. I mainly sail to Alaska, where it also rains a lot, and don't use an umbrella. I have good, waterproof rain jackets with hoods, and wear a ball cap under the hood to keep the rain off my glasses and keep the hood from drooping over my eyes. Umbrellas are a hazard in crowded ports, and they don't work well in windy places, and especially don't work on moving ships. I've seen people try and it's hilarious!

I wonder what their definition is of not visiting a glacier. I would think that this would never happen on cruises visiting Glacier Bay, unless the whole day got cancelled due to bad weather or other emergency. Glaciers are more likely to be missed on the Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier sailings. I've never been to Endicott Arm, but I've been to Tracy Arm a few times, and sometimes they barely get close enough to see a very slight, distant view of the glacier. So if they get close enough that you can barely see it in the distance, does that count as "visiting a glacier"? In all of my cruises to Alaska (13, with 2 more booked this summer) we have only completely missed our glacier once, and that was due to a very unfortunate major emergency.

There are plenty of other forms of ginger that work just fine. Candied ginger, ginger chews, ginger ale, ginger snaps, etc.

Exactly! I certainly don't know when I'll be hungry months in advance!

I don't get your logic. 🤔 Maybe it's just the time we choose to go, but there's never been a long line. We aren't causing anyone else to wait, and I've never seen a line that would cause anyone to wait half an hour.

We have never bothered to make reservations in the MDR, and have never waited more than about 5 minutes.

Ginger is a great preventative. I take ginger chews/candy from Trader Joe's, but also just drink ginger ale if I'm feeling a little "off". If you have HIA, it's easy to stop by a bar and ask for a can of ginger ale or two, and keep them in your fridge in case you need them later. I also bring generic meclazine, but only use it if I really need it. Luckily I'm not very prone to seasickness, just feel a little "off" on the first sea day. The rest of the week I'm fine.

Vancouver is a lovely city. If I had a choice of which city to visit, I'd choose Vancouver over Ft. Lauderdale any day!

Thanks, it's good to know in advanced so we know what to expect. We are scheduled to be at RR Foreward.

Does anyone have an update on this? I thought it was supposed to be fixed for this season. We don't go until mid-August, so I'm hoping things are back to normal by then.

I don't imagine that he'd be going in fully clothed. If he strips down to swim trunks, the rest of his clothes will be dry. Depending on the weather that day, his trunks might dry long before he heads back to the bus. There might even be a public restroom where he could change afterwards and put his wet suit into a plastic bag to take back to the ship.

Also, there are probably going to be very few children on board since they'll all be back in school. But personally, I probably wouldn't do it unless it was REALLY cheap. I've been to Alaska many times and wouldn't be devastated if the weather was really bad or if we ended up missing ports because of weather/rough seas. If this is likely to be your only trip to Alaska, you might end up being disappointed.

Maybe they have improved the process since last year. We waited over an HOUR just for US Customs, plus all the time for every other step of boarding. I think it was about 1.5 hours total from when we arrived until we set foot on the ship. This was on HAL, but both ships in port were going through the same customs line, so it didn't really matter what cruise line we were on. People told us that they were working on improvements for the process in Vancouver, so it sounds like it is better this year.

I've seen some posts saying that this "might" happen, but this is the first one I've seen that says that it actually DID happen. Has anyone else experienced this? We have been planning to wait to buy Plus when we board, but we'd hate for it to be "sold out" when we get there.

The water on board is great! I never buy bottled water. We always bring reusable water bottles and just drink ship water.

I will second the recommendation for Chilkoot Charters. We have used them twice - once for the bus/train tour to Caribou Crossing and once for the Lake Bennet train/bus combo. They are excellent and cheaper than booking through the cruise ship. The best part is that they use much smaller buses so more personalized tours without the huge crowd.

I've seen several comments in various threads about the danger of them "selling out" before you board, but has anyone ever actually encountered this problem? Nowhere on the Princess site have I read anything to indicate that they limit the number of Plus packages. Why do people keep mentioning this issue if it doesn't actually exist? We plan to purchase Plus on board for some of the reasons you mention (mainly the cruise fare/insurance reasons) and our TA agreed that it was a good idea.

Princess and Holland America are similar in style and similar in price. They both have been doing Alaska for a long time and do it well... and they both go to Glacier Bay. If this is likely your only trip to Alaska, you don't want to miss Glacier Bay! I have cruised both Princess and HAL to Alaska and enjoyed them both very much, but I would give a slight edge to Princess. They have better naturalists, more enrichment lectures, and extras like husky puppies, Libby Riddles (first woman to win Iditarod), etc.

Mine shows up in the same area, but when I click on it, it says Crooners. Our cabin is mid ship, so I guess it's possible... or not. 🤷‍♀️

I usually want hat and gloves on glacier sailing days, but otherwise I don't need them. You definitely don't need a heavy winter coat. A light, waterproof rain jacket is a good idea since it can rain a lot.

We've sailed many times with no package, no drink package, no internet, etc. and it was fine. We drank plain coffee, carried wine on board, used our phones in ports (Alaska, so in our US plan), and were careful about how many drinks we bought. The first time we had a package was on HAL for my son's wedding cruise. We all had their "Have it all" package and it was so nice to try different drinks with my (adult) kids, to have internet so we could all communicate easily, etc. I think that trip spoiled me for doing it any other way. We will be getting Plus for our Alaska cruise this summer. I've done the math, and it adds up for me. I also found one of my folios from a cruise about 6 years ago, and just with drinks and gratuities, we spend nearly as much per person as buying Plus, especially if you allow a bit for inflation over the years. I'm not sure if I could ever justify Premier, but Plus makes sense for us.

True, but the OP might want to consider both shows and glaciers and find a happy medium. You can enjoy good shows on a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay.

But Royal Caribbean does not go to Glacier Bay. For me, glaciers are more important than shows. YMMV

I've seen this tour when we've driven into the Yukon. The bikes share the road with huge tour buses, tourists in rental cars, etc. I, personally, would never do it.

It depends on your teens and what they enjoy. We took my 3 kids to Alaska on Princess 3 times while they were teens/young adults, and we took one friend on 2 of those cruises. They all had a wonderful time! They would not have been interested in go carts or climbing walls. They did go to a few lectures. They met friends in the clubs, and hung out with each other also. They stayed up late and ate everything in sight. They enjoyed the pools and hot tubs. Honestly, the most important thing about an Alaskan cruise is Alaska! Don't choose your cruise based on what you think your kids will like on the ship. Choose based on best port times, glaciers, and enrichment/naturalists on board.