oaktreerb

Tundra Wilderness Tour vs Kantishna? Kantishna is out past the landslide/construction on the park road. Does Princess offer a flight excursion to Kantishna? That could be interesting.

The last thing I want to do on a cruise is wait for a machine to do my laundry. We were on a smaller, upscale cruise line that had a self service laundry. Waiting for a machine, waiting for someone to come back to retrieve their clothing out of the washer or dryer, wondering if we should remove someone’s laundry or restart the dryer if the clothes weren’t dry! Back to apartment living!

We have seen the entertainers coming and going from those rooms (like the singers and dancers). I’m pretty sure there are two assigned to each room.

Holland America will dock right in town in both Juneau and Ketchikan. The Noordam is a nice ship with plenty of inside areas for scenic viewing. The ship will open the bow in Glacier Bay and will stop in front of the glacier as it turns from port to starboard so everybody gets a good view even from the balconies. Skagway will be right in town for both cruise lines although HAL usually gets the best locations.

OP hadn’t indicated the cruise line and it was a leading question. OP indicated it was Princess. I’ve been there on HAL several years ago and ISP is a very nice port. We walked to Hoonah. ISP is welcoming a lot of cruise lines.

I made my Pinnacle reservations today for the same Alaska Solstice cruise. I was on my desk top. I went into our booking, selected itinerary, and dining, selected the day, the Pinnacle, chose a time, checked agree, went to the shopping bag, and it gave me my 2 HIA free dinners. I also have it confirmed by e-mail. I didn’t check any other dates. Maybe the date you chose was reserved for a special occasion menu. (?)

You can use the back arrow to check other categories but it is a cumbersome process.

I just made reservations in the Pinnacle for our June Alaska cruise. I went in through the itinerary page of our booking. Two weeks ago our cruise was not accepting dining reservations. I selected the itinerary, the day, then dining, I chose the pinnacle, then chose my time, checked the agree box, and it went to my cart and gave me my promo rate with HIA (0). Our final payment is early February.

Go to the National Park website. nps.gov select Denali. You will find road conditions and opening dates for the camper busses that go out into the park past the ranger station. I’ve only stayed at the McKinley Chalets which has bus transportation to the park visitor center if you decide to take the train. You will have more options if you rent a car.

It’s too early for Denali. Spend your pre cruise time in Seward, Alyeska/Girdwood, Turnagain Arm area. There’s plenty to do. Kenai Fjords, Exit Glacier, Sealife Center, Wildlife Conservation Center, etc,

You may want to book a cruise that goes into Glacier Bay National Park. The park rangers will come onboard and you will probably experience the calving of the glaciers. If you have a balcony, you can sit on your balcony for a close up view as the ship rotates from port to starboard. Warm clothing, gloves, and ear warming head covering will be necessary. A warm blanket is provided in each stateroom.

Holland America ships have a forward looking Crows Nest for inside comfort when viewing the glaciers and other scenic areas. There are a lot of public viewing windows throughout the ship.

If you book your cruise with a PCC or HAL rep this becomes a one-step process for you. Call your PCC and select your stateroom, add club orange, and you are billed for the lowest priced stateroom within that meta category. Both the PCC and TA have to call to confirm that CO is available.

OP asked about the “ports”. The ports who welcome the ships will welcome the tourists and have plenty of activities and excursions to keep those tourists busy. It doesn’t sound like they will be doing a land tour.

Steve kroschel’s wildlife center if it is a ship excursion. No private tours. Hammer Museum is interesting. Haines is very walkable.

Alaska is all about tourism from May to September. All cruise lines will sell you excursions or you can plan your own. Glacier Bay entry is restricted so if you want to see the national park glaciers you would need to choose a cruise line that goes there. Hubbard Glacier is a huge glacier. Whale watching is favorable around Juneau/Icy Strait. Skagway has Gold Rush national park history. Ketchikan has Creek Street and the Bering Sea fisherman’s tour. Sitka is amazingly beautiful and has a Russian influence. There are a couple of books eg. Alaska by Cruise Ship for research.

Does your cruise tour begin on May 17? HAL will have your tour group staying in a hotel, most likely the Westmark or the Captain Cook. There is a special desk at the hotel where you will check in for your tour, get your itinerary packet, your room assignment and room key. Your itinerary will tell you where and when to meet the next morning to begin your journey. Many travelers take the HAL transfer from the airport to the hotel and arrive in groups. If you don’t know where to pick up your packet, just ask the front desk.

Glacier Bay is a sail in, pick up the rangers, stop in front of the glaciers for a few hours while the boat turns for viewing from port and starboard, sail out, drop off the rangers, sail out of the area. It’s pretty much an all day thing. You’ll probably be up and about before the main event of glacier viewing and calving. Not sure what Hubbard Bay experience is, Hubbard glacier is a huge glacier. College Fjord is an experience of viewing glaciers from the ship that covers a lot of the area that the 26 Glacier Cruise covers, Have you considered taking a cruise tour? For people who do a land tour, many prefer the land portion first and then cruise.

Skagway visitor center has a map showing hikes graded as to difficulty. We liked Smuggler’s Cove, There is another map showing sites around town. There is also a nice museum in Skagway. Also National Park exhibits. Juneau is hilly but walkable to visit places like a Russian Church and the Governor’s house. Mt Robert’s Tram is not very expensive and worth going to the top on a clear day. There is also a hiking trail up top. Ketchikan is easily walkable with Creek Street, Married Man’s Trail. etc. You can also take the public bus around town and to a Totem Park. Victoria is beautiful. Walk down to the Inner Harbor and the Parliament building and stop along the way to see the houseboats. Go online to the visitor’s bureau for each location. You will find maps.

I hope you are right. I’m saving them for a cruise without a drink package! Oh no, now I have to check expiration dates on the more recent drink vouchers!

Recently in San Diego a class of elementary school children were allowed onboard with their class. They got a tour of the Koningsdam and did a project in the arts and crafts room off the Crow’s Nest. I saw the report with video on local TV!

I like being near the Neptune Lounge and eating breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill on the older ships.

Yes, there is more than one point where you can see Denali but feel lucky if you are so blessed. I have seen the mountain from Anchorage (very small), Talkeetna at the Princess Lodge, before arriving at the ranger station on the Denali park road, and from way out in the park at Kantishna (today you have to fly in). The mountain has to be “out” and you have to be in the right place to see it!

Is the list current? The Mariner’s society welcome lunch has been in the dining room on boarding day, for whoever shows up. The special Mariner’s Society lunch later in the cruise seems to be coming back. I’m 5* and have not been invited to any Mariner’s Society lunch in my 3 cruises since Covid. The collector’s gift is the tile. The 15% discount is on logo merchandise only. The Mariner cocktail is a very simple offering and for those who have HIA worthless.