bethohio3

IF you are taking about a 2 week trip, cut your pants numbers in half. Do LAUNDRY, it's your best friend in travel. :)

I agree completely--that's a lot of pants and they're bulky. I'm willing to spend an hour or two doing laundry to avoid traveling with too much stuff.

Even when I'm gone over a month, I still only have ONE bag (and not one of the jumbo ones either) for two people.

That's less than we manage--we "allow" ourselves each one carry-on and one day bag (camera bag, purse or day backpack) for a long trip. We actually some times end up with a bit more for a cruise since we do like formal night.

I haven't done formal night in at least 10 years. We are all different, just my traveling style.

I know some people don't like formal nights, but I love dressing up and love the way my husband looks in a tux ;) so we dress up for formal night!

With arriving/departing by the train in/out of Talkeetna- take advantage of being there and get there early before departing and stay late after arriving. Don't do the 2 hour round trip shuttle more than you have to.

When I called Princess, she discouraged me from staying in Talkeetna and taking a later shuttle back, since they like to get everyone checked in at once.

That's nice for them. I don't discourage easy :-).

I'll let the driver know, but we're definitely going to stay in Talkeetna that afternoon rather than shuttling to the lodge and back!

You're right about the homework, Budget Queen. A family emergency has interrupted my planning. I don't think we'll stay so unplanned! I love to plan trips but didn't get to Fairbanks before life intervened.

The Jeep over car for the Yukon is because my husband loves Jeeps [emoji7]. He still misses the one he used to have.

It's nice to hear that others have had good experiences on the excursions we're planning!

The reason we're considering Chena Hot Springs is in hopes of seeing the aurora. It'll be mid-September--early but not impossible.

We're cruising next month on the Star Princess--we're cruising northbound and then 6 nights on land. I'm interested in thoughts about our plans, especially Fairbanks.

Ketchikan -- kayaking to Orca's Cove with Southeast Sea Kayaks

Juneau -- trip to Tracy Arm Fjord with Adventure Bound

Skagway -- renting a Jeep from Green Jeep and driving to Emerald Lake with 2 friends

Talkeetna (afternoon)-- wandering around and we'll book a last minute flight seeing if the weather is good

Talkeetna (day 2) -- ATV with DeVore’s Alaska Wilderness ATV Tours

Denali (afternoon) -- whitewater rafting (Princess tour)

Denali (day 2) -- shuttle to Eielson Visitor Center

Fairbanks (afternoon) -- Princess Riverboat excursion

Fairbanks (day 2) -- Antique automobile museum and ??

Fairbanks (night 2) -- considering Chena Hot Springs Resort

Fairbanks (day 3) -- ??

Thanks for any ideas/suggestions!

I really enjoyed your review--commentary and pictures.

We leave five weeks from today for Vancouver for a northbound Inland Passage on the Star Princess, followed by a 6 day land tour.

I hope we get anywhere near the weather you got--we can't wait!

Thanks, BudgetQueen! I've read your advice in other threads--you are so generous with your time and knowledge and I definitely appreciate it! :)

I may end up bringing ziploc bags to make icepacks from so I can keep our lunches at a safe temperature. Unless we get sandwich supplies in Talkeetna, we're pretty much constrained to the restaurant provided lunch options. (We're going to Fairbanks after Denali)

I'm getting super-excited. I hope this will be the first of multiple trips to Alaska, but I feel as if we've got a wide range of things planned and will get to see a reasonable amount given our time constraints.

Hi all!

We're planning our Alaska cruise (39 days!). We're cruising from Vancouver to Whittier on the Star Princess and then 2 nights at the Princess McKinley Wildness Lodge, 2 nights at the Denali Lodge, and then 1 night at the Fairbanks Lodge. We're staying another day in Fairbanks but don't yet know where we're staying.

For Denali, I got Wonder Lake shuttle tickets--if we decide we don't to go that far, we can always turn around earlier. We have an 8:45 departure time.

I have several questions:

• What time do we need to be at the Wilderness Access Center before the 8:45 shuttle?
  
• Where are the best places to get a boxed lunch?
  
• How long is the walk really between Princess Lodge and the WAC?
  
• Is the Jonesville Trail a bike trail or a hiking trail?
  
• In September, should we expect to need mosquito netting? (We don't have any but I saw them available on Amazon)
  
• If we do a short hike, will we wish we had walking sticks?
  
• Were there things I should have asked but didn't?
  

Oh yeah--and how the heck am I supposed to have so many different bags? Obviously, there's regular luggage. And then my day bag, which is a large purse. But if we're hiking, we'll want a back pack for lunches and water bottles and such. It's bad enough that I need bulky shoes for this trip--I don't want to pack a suitcase full of bags! :D

Hi Sue,

You should post this in your roll call, rather than on the Alaska board. Hope you find some companions!

--Beth

I've timed it all sorts of ways.

We leave in 42 days--and I'm booking excursions this week. It may mean we don't get to do everything we want to do, but I had plenty of in between trips to plan for!

This is our first trip to Alaska (September 5 Star Princess). We're going to Tracy Arm Fjord (plan to book it this week), but regret we won't get to see the Mendenhall Glacier.

There's only so much time on every trip at every stop--there's always something on the "next time" list!

Our cruise is just 6 weeks away!

Thanks to everyone for their information. I like Spanish wines and am likely to try a BC wine. As for the Diet Cokes, I'm a bit of an addict. I'll get a soda card for the trip, but I like to have one when I get up or at night in my cabin--which is why I want to pick some up.

Have really enjoyed anything about Alaska but love Dana Stabenow's writings and characters.

Based on recommendions from this thread, I looked for Dana Stabenow's books from our local library ebook download. They didn't have the first books in either the Kate Shugan or Liam series, so I went to Amazon--both those books are currently free on Amazon.

Obviously, they're free so we'll read the first book of the series and then pay for future ones--but I downloaded them both and am looking forward to reading them!

I think there's room for both binoculars and cameras on the same cruise--but I'd agree it doesn't work to switch back and forth. Sometimes I just want to look and sometimes I want to take pictures. I'll be bringing a camera and binoculars.

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We're flying into Vancouver for a same day departure. (I'd rather travel the day before but we couldn't make it work this time)

There will be two of us and we'd like to acquire two bottles of wine and a 12-pack of Diet Coke for our cabin prior to boarding. We could pack them, but traveling with glass bottles worries me.

With the flat rate taxi costs now to the Port, how do they handle a store stop en route?

Thanks!

For a historical take on Alaska there are several books. “On The White Pass Pay-Roll” by Graves tells about the building of the WPYR from Skagway.

 

One of my favorites is “Where the Sea Breaks Its Back” by Ford The Russian expedition to Alaska with Vitus Bearing and naturalist Georg Steller. Also “Steller’s Island” by Littlepage.

Thank you. I'll look these up.

For videos, I know that I can search my library for "Alaska" (and 137 recordings pop up)--I was hoping someone would be able to recommend ones they've seen and are worth my time :-)

We've booked a cruise tour (Star Princess) in September 2015 along with (so far) 15 other friends.

Before our last cruise (UK), we watched several movies and I read several books (historical novels and one history) set in some of the areas we were visiting. When I actually got to Normandy, or Guernsey or Stonehenge or Dublin, it really came more alive for me and I think I got more out of the experience because of the books and movies.

So, what do people recommend for reading and watching before a trip to Alaska?

Thanks!

I'm assuming that not only are binoculars a must, we each need a pair--if there are really cool things to see, I won't want to share--but won't want to deprive DH of viewing. So, we'll each bring a pair. (We actually each have a pair already.)

We don't share a camera either--we each bring our own and take pictures of the same things. When we get home, I merge all of the pictures and sort them by date/activity. Without fail, his pictures are better than mine--but I'm still going to take my own!

I started out using OneNote for our last cruise (British Isles) and ended up switching to WordPress. That was a lot of fun and let me share my notes with my travel companions and the people on my Roll Call who were interested.

I didn't know if people were really looking at it beyond my friends, until I was introduced to someone on the ship as "the Beth who has that website"!

I'll be doing the same for our September 2015 cruise to Alaska--we're going on the Star Princess September 5th, including the 5 day Denali Explorer tour. So far, our group is at 19 people! (And we just announced we were doing this about 10 days ago)

Please clarify:

 

If you mean NO tips, because tipping is not common in Auatralia, how does that address the question raised by the OP?

 

And, if you do mean NO tips, would you prefer that the basic fare for a seven day cruise be increased by about $150?

Personally, I would prefer a 'no tipping' policy where employees are compensated directly. The current fee is a cost of cruising, whether it's part of the basic fare or tacked on as charges to your cabin, so I'd just as soon they were part of the basic fare.

However, if cruise lines did go to an "all tips are included" model, some people would still feel the need/desire to give additional tips--and we'd be right back at the "cash in envelopes" situation.

In the end, though, I can "prefer" or "think" all I want, but we've got the system we've got, and the auto-gratuities are part of the system--and so I go along with how that works.

I've started identifying tops not to travel in--I have some that have studs in them--really pretty, feminine tops--but the decoration sets off the machines.

The staggered boarding does seem almost counter productive since a large number of people really have no control at when they arrive at the pier!

This was my reaction when I received an email from travel agent today for a May 11 departure. It's not as if, at this late date, I can alter my travel arrangements!

To ensure a smooth start to your voyage, we operate a progressive embarkation schedule. Please arrive at your check-in time listed below. If you have booked a Princess Cruise Plus Package/Transfer, your check-in time will be provided at your hotel or the airport. Passengers with a Preferred Boarding Pass may check- in any time during embarkation, although we kindly request you arrive during your recommended time. Please do not arrive at the pier prior to 12:00 PM as there is limited seating inside the terminal. Boarding will commence shortly after check-in. Once aboard, enjoy a meal at the Horizon Court which remains open throughout the day to serve you. Thank you for your cooperation. We look forward to welcoming you on board.

 

12:00 PM - Caribe & Dolphin Decks / Cabins starting with the letters "C" & "D"

1:00 PM - Lido & Riviera Decks / Cabins starting with the letters "L" & "R"

2:00 PM - Aloha & Baja Decks / Cabins starting with the letters "A" & "B"

3:00 PM - Emerald & Plaza Decks / Cabins starting with the letters "E" & "P"

 

We travel often so I always keep my toiletry kit stocked.

I love my Rick Steeve toiletry bag. I bought the inner hanging piece that can be hung on the shower head or shower rod for shower items. (DH and DD have the same bag in different colors)

I have several smaller cosmetic-type bags which I take as needed--OTC meds, laundry/sewing kit, misc such as scissors, corkscrew, can opener, glasses cleaner...) and one for makeup.

I use go toob refillable containers for shampoo conditioner and face wash. They last just the few days past two weeks I generally need.

As for bathroom space, it depends--we've only cruised Carnival and Princess--and Princess had a lot more storage and counter space.

Since we do travel a lot, though, I'll say hotel rooms are more likely to have a place to hang my bag than to put stuff on the counters.

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Thank you, JB! That was really helpful.

They normally have a tip box on their desk (in the tour bus there is usually a small basket on the dashboard). .

This goes back to my original question. For an all day tour with a driver/guide, what is considered typical per person?

Is EUR 1-2 per person (or GBP 1-2 ) considered cheap or customary?

Does it make a difference if the tour guide is a one person business?

Thanks!

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Hi Folks,

I chose this cabin because of its proximity to the Horizon Court and outside areas, and also (and please don't flame me!) because of its proximity to the outside smoking area on the port side of the Lido deck forward.

I don't have any specific advice but as an avid anti/non-smoker, I want to go on record as saying flaming would be totally inappropriate. There are rules about smoking, you are following them, and making your decisions based on what's right for you.