Straitlover

Avis does not have an office at the cruise terminal. It's a half mile luggage drag uphill. I've seen signs for a shuttle.

 

Alamo, Enterprise, and National have a desk at the cruise terminal.

 

Hertz is a 3 block luggage drag downhill to the Pacific Rim hotel.

I am using the Avis at Hornsby. I am picking up the car the morning after the cruise, so no luggage dragging needed. I will walk from the Auberge to the Avis office to get the car and then swing back by the hotel and pick up the others and all the luggage. Hopefully finding somewhere to load up won't be a problem!

 

U.S. Coast Guard does not charge the patient for a medical evac.

Do they (USCG) handle the evacs if you're in another country, say Aruba, Grand Cayman, etc? When I say that's why ins is important, I mean in general, not the particular case here.

We are going to try to do 7 days Alaska cruise (and 7 days land) with only carry-on bags - no checked bags. We always travel light. We fly at the pointy end of the planes with just carry-on bags, and very rarely have a checked bag. We are non-alcoholic drinkers, and prefer bottled water. We are thinking of buying 2 pack of 6x1.5l water bottles and checking them through to our cabin. Do they have to be packed inside something? Or, can we just stick a label with our names and cabin number, and they will be delivered to our cabin? Thanks for any advice.

Rules say all beverages should be carried on, not checked. However, you will see that some people do check them inside suitcases w/ the porters.

EDIT: see #6 post on this thread from HAL facebook.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2319640

The Courtyard has a free shuttle from airport and to pier.

Which Courtyard? I stayed at the one on the Beach (Seabreeze Ave), and I don't think they had a shuttle free or paid. I didn't look too hard into it, though, because we came in two days early to sight see, plus our cruise left out of Miami, so we rented a car.

Nice hotel! I'd pay for a cab or Uber easily to stay there again if I was only staying the one night.

Very interesting! Hope the passenger will be OK.

I recall an interesting thread here a couple or so years ago about a CC'er who had a heart attack on a cruise and was medivac-ed off. I think he was on Princess.

This is why trip insurance is so important!!!

I just booked the Puffin Inn which is walking distance to Enterprise car rental.

Have you checked the prices at Enterprise yet? I lucked out on a great deal (Wed AM through Sat 10 PM for around $170 including taxes), but that we several months ago. Last time I checked it was a lot higher (like $400 or more). Get your car figured out, and if it's not Enterprise we might be able to find you a decent hotel near whatever agency you choose.

Not sure about Victoria but yes to Yukon.

If you decide to go with Enterprise and don't mind a no-frills hotel, The Puffin Inn has decent reviews on TripAdvisor and a room for $128. It is within walking distance of the Enterprise office on Spenard (.3 mile).

I haven't been yet, but my research says the best place to get CAD is from a bank ATM (usually has the best exchange rate). We are staying one night after our cruise. We will be getting a little money from an ATM. Most stores take CCs, but we want to have a little cash just in case.

I just googled, and there is a bus transfer that leaves at 8:45 and drops you at the airport at 10:30, early bird price is $35 per person (book by 2/28). You could then rent a car and go wherever you want. Don't think I'm allowed to post the link since I have not sued it myself. Just google transfer from whittier ak to anchorage airport, and it's right there near the top.

Depends on what you think is reasonable, which car rental agency you are using and how you are getting to the ship. Where are you returning your car? How are your getting to the ship? I would pick a place that is close to one of these places so you don't have to take two taxis.

I'll give you my plans for the week after yours: staying at Comfort Suites near the airport night of 6/5. Picking car up early next AM at Enterprise Spenard location (walking distance from hotel) to head to Denali. Return to Anchorage and stay at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Midtown night of 6/9, return the car to Enterprise South location (walking distance from hotel, closed but allows after hours dropoff). Take cab or Uber/Lyft early next morning to train station.

Both of my hotels have good reviews

Lots of people her recommend the YWCA in downtown. Check to see if that's available.

The Holiday In Express, Accent Inns and Holiday Inn near the airport have good reviews on Booking.com and are a decent price on 6/9/18 (just picked a date because I didn't know when you needed the room).

Not a big deal, but for N. Amsterdam, you have the same group listed twice for July 21st. :D don't want people to think they have two big groups on the same cruise, LOL.

Thanks for all you do!!!!

If you're not sightseeing, I say get a room near the airport. Next day, take the Sky Train/cab/cruiseline transfer (whichever you prefer) to Canada place.

Must have been some changes! When I booked our June 2018 Alaska cruise in March 2017 (three pax), I only had to put down $200. This was through a TA, and there was not any kind of special going on that I knew about but maybe there was? When I re-fared and everything became non-refundable, I had to pay an additional $150. So I've only paid OOP $350 so far. Our balance is due 3/20/18, which is pretty big (to me!) since it's for an SS cabin. :D

What are you planning on doing at Denali? Keep in mind the shuttle only goes as far as Tolkat through May 31st. It goes as far as Eilson Visitor Center starting June 1st. If you want to do the narrated tours, you only get the really short Natural History Tour before June 1st.

I haven't gone yet, but from what I've read, no way would I try to do Denali to the ship on the same day unless it was booked through the cruiseline. First, it's a long day. Second, if you run into traffic/wreck/etc, you could possibly miss the ship. I would come back on the 1st if your cruise leaves on the 2nd.

If you cna't head towards Denali until 5/30 and have to come back on 6/1, I personally would skip it. Tehre's plenty to do outside of Anchorage. Drive to Seward and do stuff around there, spend the night, then head back and do stuff on the way, spend the night in maybe Girdwood, then head back towards Anchorage. Spend the night there,return the car and then head to the ship. If you want to see Denali, you can do flightseeing out of Anchorage or Talkeetna.

If it is in Canada Place I rented from a different rental agency there and it was fine. As was mentioned all the cars were in an underground parking lot and there were several rental companies sharing the location. I wasn't thrilled with the car they gave me (minivan with 25K miles) but it was a long walk back to the counter and I was just using it for a one day one way rental. The whole process was fairly smooth though.

 

I didn't have any issues at the border either but once coming into Canada in a rental we were given the 3rd degree and then asked to go inside for a secondary screening. We have been to Canada through that crossing (the truck crossing) about 100 times in our own cars without issue so the only thing I can think of is that the rental car's plate was somehow tagged.

No, not Canada Place, a few blocks south (or is it southwest???). Full size at Alamo at Canada Place is 218 CAD, so I'm saving 82 CAD going w/ Avis. I'm going to take a chance.

I'm taking a scenic route that Gardyloo posted once, so we will be crossing the border on I-5. Hopefully no issues! The only border I've driven across is Mexico south of San Diego, so hopefully it's not that crazy. :)

Any reviews good or bad? Renting a car for a one way Vancouver to Seattle drive in June. Was able to get full size for one day rental for 136 CAD inc taxes/fees (Costco plus some special Avis has right now), which is way better than anywhere else. I've never used Avis at all. I've heard problems about other Avis locations, so I was hoping to find someone who has used this location before.

Wondering where they have the cars as it is a storefront downtown and I saw no parking lot on Google Maps street view. Luckily it's a quick walk from our hotel (800 meters), so no cost for a cab to get there.

I don't know what the problem is booking for Skagway via the Avis Alaska website. I can't get it to work, either. I emailed them about it, and they said it was working fine and must be my computer. They told me just to book through the main site.

From what I've read, not too awful long before you have to be on the ship. It's a looong bus ride. If no one else answers here for sure I'd post over on the Alaska board.

No snakes in Polynesia???? I know where I'm moving after I retire - LOL!

Loving your posts. Living vicariously through this because I know I'll never be able to do it unless sister wins the lotto!

I just realized you posted your date so you might not want to post your cabin number (don't blame you!). If it were me booking with an elderly mother, on Upper Promenade I would choose VA, VB or VC. On Navigation deck, I think the VE cabins at the front would probably be OK as they are not right under the Fitness center/gym. They are under the Spa, but the spa is not noisy.

Keep in mind I have not actually sailed on the Westerdam; I am going by the deck plans and comparing it to ships I have been on noise-wise..

What cabin number did you book? I will look it up for you and post if it is OK for your mother or not.

Some of the verandahs near the front have the steel railings as you noted in one of your posts. If you are sitting down you can't see the water or shore since it's all metal rather than the clear plrexiglass. I'm assuming your mother would be sitting more than standing on the verandah since you are wanting to be close to an elevator?

If no one else has a better solution, you can ship packages to a local UPS Store and pick them up there rather than bringing items as luggage. They do charge a fee, but you won't have to pay the airline baggage fee. You just need to contact the store directly. Looks like there is one on 1st Ave near the port.