cpizzull
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Posts posted by cpizzull
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Hi All!
Planning 1st Alaska cruise, and actually 1st cruise since becoming celiac. Research seems to show I'll basically be feasting on gluten free pizza at Denali Lodge so I'm trying to get confirmation that I shouldn't waste time thinking about the Connoisseur Pkg. True?
Thx for any advice!
Chet
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5 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:
I could be wrong and I'm sure someone will correct me if so 🙂 but I thought the Kantishna tour wasn't offered now due to the road closure through 2026.
https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/conditions.htm
That's what I was wondering too after I tried to find it. Bummer.
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12 hours ago, portiemom said:
I would do the cruise tour with 3 nights at Denali and skip Talkeetna. Denali National Park is far more important to me than anything I would do in Talkeetna. That said, we chose 2 nights at Mt. McKinley Lodge and 2 at Denali. It was gray and rainy both days at Mt. McKinley Lodge. We did enjoy a river rafting and walked around Talkeetna and had lunch, which was nice, but does not compare to having an extra full day at DNP. We were sure to do the Kantishna tour that goes to the end of the road in DNP. Highly recommend. Did not see the mountain either of those days at the Denali Lodge. Mountain was not out on the bus tour through the park. Finally, did get to see the mountain from the train on the way to meet the cruise ship! Magnificent!! I hope it works out for you whatever you choose!
Thank you! That's exactly the type of post I wanted to read (someone who has been to both and would still decide to do Denali for a specific reason). Did you book the Kantishna tour thru Princess? And if one does the Tundra Wilderness tour, does it make sense to also do the Kantishna one? Thanks again!
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14 hours ago, Ramblin Wreck Cruiser said:
We did not go into Talkeetna, because we were pretty tired from the bus trip and there wasn’t anything there that really appealed to us.
Exactly what I'm talking about! Will be tired and not have much time to do much with the time you do have. And if you want Talkeetna, you spend basically another 2 hours in travel it seems (incl. prepping and waiting), based on what I read. And you would do all that in the 10% chance you get a view of the mountain, as amazing as it would be. I've seen Mt. Ranier quite a bit and been on top of the Continental Divide so it's not like it would be earth shattering experience. LOL (trust me, if I knew I'd see the mountain, I'd go thru the grief). 😉
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15 hours ago, capriccio said:
Your unpacking and packing will be limited since your accompanying baggage is limited. You are allowed a tote or backpack and one piece of luggage on the tour. The remainder of your luggage will meet you on the ship.
if you haven’t seen the description of the different types of baggage, see https://www.princess.com/learn/faq/cruisetours/alaska-cruisetours/
Well, unpacking and packing with a cpap (and I assume I can get distilled water somewhere) adds to it being a pain if not even 12 hours of free time. 😉 Thanks for the link too. I haven't gotten there yet.
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Thanks all for the replies so far. Much appreciated!
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It still seems like the only reason(s) to go thru that huge hassle of unpacking and packing within 17 hours is 1)for that 10% chance I can see the mountain (which may not mean anything anyway if I can see it on an excursion during the 3 nights at Denali lodge, right), and 2)if there's something in Talkeena we want to (but between Denali lodge and cruise excursions, it seems I could do almost everything outside of Talkeena anyway, heh).
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Again, if this was probably more than 24 hours or even just 12 hours of 'free' time, we'd probably stay the night, but I'm still not really convinced it's going to be worth the extra headache. But that's just me. 😉 I will keep on researching and would still love to hear reasons. -
First cruise to Alaska and first on Princess. Planning/Researching for a June 2025 trip so I can at least narrow down my choices. We are leaning toward the 11-night cruisetour DB4, with 3 nights at Denali Lodge. We hate unpacking and packing more than we have to. With the other tour (EB4 for example) doing 1 night at McKinley, then 2 nights at Denali, we were wondering if we really miss out on anything if we don't do McKinley lodge at all. From what I can see also, you basically arrive late afternoon there, will be busy trying to do dinner and settle in, and then all you have is the morning to go do something before you leave for Denali. Is that true? If so, it seems like a no-brainer to just do Denali for 3 nights and get 2 full days. What am I missing cause they obviously give this choice for a reason? lol
Thank you!Chet
PS. Is there a place that has the itinerary with specific times? I haven't searched too hard yet so would love to save time if anyone has at the ready.
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What a great time we just had with knowjamaica tours. Some comments/advice:
1. after leaving the ship, and following the herd, make sure to go toward the right and head to the red roofed building...that's where you meet the private tours
2. bring extra cash...we had brought $80 add'l and by the time we tipped everyone, bought the video, etc, we basically had nothing left for lunch, ha
3. we stopped at Bamboo Blu beach aftwards, which was great since it wasn't crowded..however, do not do lunch there...make sure you follow Marva's original advice and get some lunch at side of the road, Smootchies??
4. on way to Dunns River, we pulled along side of road and experienced their cocunut water..we got extra straws so everyone in our group could try it....didn't need a laxative at the time of the trip, ha..it was just $2
5. Marva is so caring about the quality of service, she actually had the driver hand us his phone twice so she could talk with me to see how things were going, and how it went at the very end
If we ever go back, I will definitely use their service again!
Btw....2 other parties within my group did tours with Liberty/Ricardo. They both loved their services as well. However, one did horse back riding and tubing, and they did not like the horse back riding at all. Tubing the white river was awesome they said as they were about only ones there. The other group did the secret blue hole and absolutely loved it, especially for the adventuresome.
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Just curious...did you all still tip after the excursion, or do you assume it's included in price? This is 1st time I've booked one directly really and will pay cash.
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I did a lot of research and from what I can tell, they are about the highest rated private tour operator. Therefore I've booked with them for May. Marva has been very, very responsive via email and I'm greatly looking fwd to it. We have 12 in our group signed up for her.
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Thanks everyone for the replies!! I actually decided to just go do Nachi beach, and reserved the snorkel trip from there (you have to put down an extra $8 non-refundable deposit for the snorkel tour, which takes you out to the reefs like most of the tours). I'll reply back in May and let you know how it all worked out.
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To the buffet we go!!!
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You cannot go back and forth between traditional dining and MTD. If you choose MTD now, you will lose your traditional dining space.
Great. Thanks Bob!
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Heading onto Oasis in May. I currently have the main seating for the cruise. I was curious......can I reserve a My Time Dining on day(s) I know I will miss my 6pm dinner? It appears I can on-line although I didn't go thru the whole process of actually doing it cause I was afraid it would erase my main seating for the whole cruise. Thx in advance!!
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Hi everyone!
First time to Jamaica so wondering if I do Dunns River by itself or do the combo excursion to Bamboo Beach. Please share your experiences with this excursion. I emailed a private tour operator to get costs reduced but they thought we would have no time for beach (we dock at 10:30am, leave at 7pm). So, knowing our arrival time, and doing Dunns first, how much time is actually spent at Bamboo on this RCCL excursion?
Thx in advance for any advice!
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That's great to hear. Thank you both! I figure all the drinking will fill us up anyway I guess. :o)
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Ha. Perfect (your trip date). I look fwd to a detailed report. ;o)
I have seen the menu pics so that's good to hear. I was concerned for a bit there was a separate 4-course menu that was so limited my kids would hate the food, ha.
I assume they take US dollars in case we wanted to buy a burger or something (I probably won't)?
We have 31 people booked for Nachi. It will be like our private beach, ha.
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I would suggest asking the people at Nachi about more. They may not have enough snorkeling boats. You can also contact a good snorkeling vendor, like Eagle Ray Divers, and asking if they pick up at Nachi.
As far as how calm or rough the water will be, it will depend on the weather conditions that day. As the boats would go away from Nachi to the reef, conditions away from shore may be different than what you see at the beach. It'll be up to the tour operators whether or not to go out. And up to the experience of your group whether all or some go out. Generally, the winds are lighter in the early morning unless a front is coming through and Nachi is on the lee side of Coz. But if there'll be any wind, it'll start building by 9 or 10AM Coz time.
Thx for the info crewsweeper! Much appreciated!
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Thx again bgpuppies!
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The portions are large.
Usually we order an appetizer (mine) and both share it. Then an hour or two later order another (DW's) and share that.
Then later we wander up to the restaurant for our main courses.
Thank you! So if you order Nachos, is it one plate of Nachos (the pics I saw didn't look like that much really), or will they keep bringing you nacho refills?
And are you choosing off the regular full menu, or is this a limited 4-course type menu?
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I've read so many reviews and yet still don't understand exactly how the 'food' portion works at Nachi Cocom. I've seen reviews were people say they had so much food and other reviews that said you get 1 appetizer, 1 entree, and 1 dessert. Can someone indicate exactly how this goes down? Is it unlimited based on your 1 choice of each course? I can't order fries, cheese sticks, tacos, burger, and whatever else all day long? I've also read that you could purchase add'l food, hence the prices on the menu. Just trying to understand what this 'all-inclusive' means so expectations are set correctly. ;o)
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Hi All! Will be heading to Nachi with a large group and most of us are hoping to snorkel the reef via the tours there. I was curious if the water will be too choppy that early morning or is it pretty much the same no matter what time? Any experiences from doing the 9am reef snorkel?
Also, Nachi seems to only do 8 at a time. If I have a group of 15 or so, has anyone had a tour operator come in and pick up your group from Nachi beach?
Thx!
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Appears Mr. Sanchos 'uses' http://www.ramonzapatadivers.com/snorkeling-package.html for their snorkel tours, fyi
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Well, I stand corrected. Just got reply back from Paradise Beach. They also have the vendor to do the $35each snorkeling to the 2 reefs.
And to answer my other question, yes, Nachi has frozen drinks.
Updated from above:
> Nachi Cocum http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/
-ONLY all-inclusive, $55ea 16+, $35 12-15, $17 4-11, must reserve asap
-no crowds, only 100 people limit
-snorkel tours to reef every 2 hours, about $38/person
-swimming pool
-wave runners, banana boat, water trampoline
> Playa Palancar http://www.buceopalancar.com/index_en.html
-NO all-inclusive, but drinks and food cheap really
-crowds smaller than Mr. Sanchos or Paradise Beach
-snorkel/dive tours to 2 reefs every 2 hours, about $35/person, 1.5 hours long, all equip
-no pool
-wave runners, kayaks, parasailing
> Paradise Beach http://www.paradise-beach-cozumel.com/
-NO all-inclusive, but drinks and food cheap really..$3 admission
-crowded type beach
-snorkel tour from beach to 2 reefs, $35, like above
-large pool area
-all water activities, including water park, floating mats and snorkel equipment for $15
> Mr. Sanchos http://www.mrsanchos.com
-Optional all-inclusive, $55ea or $40 for 12-17 and under, $35 4-11; separate area for all-inclusive folks
-crowded type beach if not all-inclusive
-no snorkel/dive tours but have some tours, like horseback riding, via http://www.beachtours.com.mx/ (on-site too?)
-pool
-all water activities, including water park ($12)
Connoisseur Pkg not worth it for celiac, right?
in Princess Cruises
Posted
That is great to hear! Thank you so much for responding!! I was starting to think nobody wanted to reply, lol.
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So, your answer would apply to the basic pre-paid meal plans too I assume. Having said that, since we may only have 4 days on land (probably doing 3 nights at Denali), do you think the Connoisseur is still really worth it? Do you feel restricted with time, knowing you'll need to eventually eat at a restaurant, which I believe usually require reservations??
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Oh, unrelated to food.......do people who have the Connoisseur pkg get assigned better rooms (with view, etc)? Just curious.
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Thanks again!!