GottaLuvCruising

I called several times and wrote a snail mail letter. Finally one more call, again elaborating that we needed just a 28 day extension to use our last remaining $766 for our 50th anniversary cruise. It wasn't easy, but they finally accommodated us. I was frustrated and disappointed that it was such a hassle for 28 days, but we're all set now. That cruise, 3.2.23 Caribbean Princess Panama Canal will likely be our last cruise for lots of reasons (none directly related to that hassle.)

Yes. That's exactly what we did. Four of us used On Point @ $14.99 each. Worked great. Good luck!

Our tour was longer, did not include a meet & greet or film. We did LOTS of tours on this 14 day trip and NONE of the others were in a miserable school bus. We did tours at Yellowstone and Grand Teton last year; tour buses were comfortable with big windows. Denali's problem IMHO is contracting with Aramark...low quality everything.

It was offered on the Royal in the dining room one day on our recent Alaska cruise. We didn't make it.

We were told that only 62% of Alaskans are vaccinated so the virus is spreading and morphing. But who knows? We carefully masked until we were toward the end. Mistake we now know, but symptoms were mild and everyone is well now. Like you, I'm just over it. We had a great time despite disappointing weather and covid frustrations. It was a crapload of money on which I wish we could have cruised covid-free. I hear you on the Denali tour bus. OMG. It was HORRID. We paid $512 for the four of us. Hubby is 6'4" and BIL is 6'6". Bus was cram packed full. We were told we had to wear seatbelts...no way! We could barely move in the cramped seats. It's a frigging school bus with dirty little windows and vertically challenged folks like myself had a hard time seeing anyway. Tour guide / driver was very kind and tried so hard, but honestly he pulled to the side of the road a half dozen times to show us "ground squirrels." We did see two caribou and a grey wolf. It was a long, uncomfortable day with some great views, but NEVER again. I still need to write a review of THAT experience which is universally considered the worst of our trip.

We strongly preferred the land tour first and can't remember exactly why we "settled" for the reverse. BUT passengers are picking up covid on the land portion. So doing it our way allowed us to fully enjoy and leave Alaska without having to be tested. If we had tested positive, we could not have boarded the ship. It worked out.

July 16-20 we did Princess EAX tour. Had I known then what I know now, I would have made a different choice. But we had a GREAT time. Princess was amazing in organizing everything, presenting itineraries, providing transport and luggage services. LOVED the simple painless hassle-free check in at each resort. Transfers were by comfortable motor coaches. This was our first time with a land tour and overall we were very pleased. Sat 7/16 we took a very long coach ride from Whittier to Denali. Driver stopped so we could pick up some supplies at a Fred Meyer (?) It was really convenient to have that option. Then we stopped Princess McKinley lodge where were provided complimentary box lunches. That was a pleasant surprised and enabled a lot of people to have lunch in a short amount of time. It did, however, render our stay there a few days later rather anticlimatic as we had seen the resort. Finally we arrived and checked in at Princess Denali. Each room (Denali, McKinley and Captain Cook) each couple was assigned a room with a king bed. At Captain Cook my sister was assigned a suite! We were delighted to have king beds. Rooms were lovely. LOVED Denali resort. McKinley resort is VERY remote; we would NOT choose to stay there again. We arrived in Anchorage late in the day, it was cold and rainy; we did the trolley tour (very good) and went to bed hungry, after struggling in vain to find basic sustenance nearby and room service not calling back. 3am wake up, 4am shuttle and we got home 4am the next morning. Exhausted, broke, but we get memories. Three of the four of us also came home with covid. (All better now.) EACH resort indicated no housekeeping during stay unless requested. At least the told us. Pre-cruise hotel in Seattle did not inform us up front. Not really significant IMHO, but this was the service challenge due to staffing shortages. Everything else seemed to go just fine. Our Denali to Talkeetna / McKinley transfer was by rail. My mistake. That's the shorter train option. I'd recommend selecting an itinerary with a longer train / shorter motorcoach. The domed train was one of the highlights of our two week trip. We loved it. We considered a land package dining plan, but decided against it. Resort menu pricing seemed in line with what was offered in that environment. Lots of dining options at Denali. Not as good at McKinley. I'm happy to answer questions if I might be of any assistance. We love cruising, but not so sure well do another land tour. The packing and unpacking was chaotic.

We cruised 7/9 to 7/16 and toured Alaska until 7/20. Wore layers the whole time. For us, Alaska was warmer and sunnier in May.

Just off a 7 day cruise (then 4 day land tour.) Wonderful vacation. Didn't notice or give a rodent's back side what anybody wore. Didn't see a single naked person on deck. It's all good. The fashion police do like to get their panties in a wad. I waver between ignoring / laughing at them. IMHO dress codes are outdated and irrelevant.

To echo Lady Arwen's comment, "formal" was definitely less so in Alaska. Folks had to pack layers for excursions. FYI

We sailed Royal July 9-16. I skipped the first two production shows (had seen before) but LOVED Sweet Soul Music and went to BOTH presentations. TWO nights they had a Whitney H impersonater we had seen before (very good), but we didn't bother. We enjoyed the Ukrainian sibling violin duet and the popular music group in Piazza a few times. No lack of music, lectures and entertainment on board. We mostly enjoyed the views from our balcony.

I'm a vintage Floridian who summers in Maine...I tend to prefer cooler temps. I always needed a light sweater or cover up on board. We sailed Royal Princess northbound Alaska with 4 day land tour July 9-20. Three of the four of us are now recovering from covid. FYI Great time. Drizzly weather. Mild symptoms. All good.

We used the (free) test mailed by government. We scheduled proctoring for $14.99pp for the day prior to embarkation. Worked out just fine. OnPoint Testing - Rapid Antigen and PCR Testing Specialists (onpoint-testing.com) FYI - we brought extra tests just in case. Disembarked Alaska northbound last Saturday. Tested negative Tuesday. Flew home Wednesday. Since then three of the four of us have tested positive. Hubby is the last man standing so I'm exiled to camper to keep him safe. But proctoring worked fine.

Both of us are over 65, have had the 2nd booster and have cruised four times this year.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Ours mirrors yours in many ways. Thankfully no mishaps on our motorcoach to Denali. Box lunch at McKinley resort was a pleasant surprise, but stopping there made our overnight later in the week rather anticlimactic. We found very little to do at that resort, but did enjoy our (drizzly) trail ride. We DID do two nights at Denali and agree it's a must. ALL of our rooms (Denali, McKinley and Captain Cook had a king bed - perfect for us.) We were two couples traveling together. For reassurance, I tested (negative) Tuesday evening in Anchorage. We got home (long delays) 4am Thursday and sister tested positive that afternoon. Rest of us were negative. I became symptomatic Friday morning and tested positive. Sister and I are on paxlovid with mild symptoms. Guys are still negative and keeping their distance from us. When I'm feeling well, I'll work on a review.

We disembarked Royal Princess July 16th, did a 4 day Princess land tour and flew home July 20th. I tested negative in Anchorage Tuesday - just for reassurance. Wednesday was 21 long travel hours. Sister became symptomatic Thursday and tested positive. I tested negative again, as did both husbands. I became symptomatic yesterday and tested positive. Both of us are on paxlovid, mild symptoms. We are all vaxxed and boosted. Hubby and I are super boosted. We masked when expected. Had a great time. Will review when fully recovered. This is my view from my camper where I am exiled to protect Hubby. I have privacy, A/C, TV and a bathroom and he brings me anything i want. 10 day quarantine? BS...I'm milking this for a month.

Looks like Pacific Coast highway. Able to move forward now...

Trying to complete ArriveCan for Saturday. App appears to want me to identify WHERE shuttle will cross the border? Seriously? Any ideas? Douglas (840) appears to be the best I-5 option. But I don't know if it's correct and can't seem to select it. PITA. I'll call Princess later, if I must...

Yes...according to others who have used the service.

We cruise Saturday. We booked OnPoint proctoring for $14.99 each using the "free" tests we got by mail. This service allows one to use a cell phone or tablet whereas many require a laptop or PC. OnPoint Testing - Rapid Antigen and PCR Testing Specialists (onpoint-testing.com)

We have both E425 and E429 next week. These images are E425 specifically.

Those are our staterooms next week on Royal. Found these images online.

The reports cause me concern as we fly to Seattle Thursday, then board Royal in Vancouver Saturday for our cruise-tour. Years of planning and saving $$$$ went into this trip. We'll be heartsick to miss any or all due to covid. But we're doing all we can to protect ourselves and hoping for the best. We need this escape from reality, please, and hoping nobody gets sick.

We've cruised Hawaii three times. The best one overnighted in Kahului. We rented a car and drove to the summit of Haleakala for sunrise. We explored much of the island over two days. One of the other cruises docked in Kahului and we took a private Road to Hana tour...which was brilliant. Our last Hawaii cruise tendered in Lahaina. Again, we rented a car and explored. All three were fantastic, with the overnight the best. If you are comfortable renting a car, Kahului should be great.

We leave on an Alaskan cruise tour a week from today. We've planned for two years, saved for longer. We're psyched. Of course, we are disappointed that covid is still an issue and concerned about flight delays / cancellations, but NOBODY on our roll call engages. No meet & greet, no slot pull, no cabin crawl. I've offered to organize, but whatever. Bon voyage!