tennisgirl31712

We don't have anything planned for Skagway since it's just the morning. We're thinking of just walking around and up to Creek St (based on ridiculous amounts of research done here hahaha). For Victoria we'll probable do the city tour directly with Princess to make sure we don't get left behind

For Ketchikan, I was also going to just walk around and shop on Creek St. While searching online for a downtown tourist map, I came across a walking tour map that's free to download and print out, if you're interested.

http://www.experienceketchikan.com/ketchikan-walking-tour.html

IMO, Yes - well worth the $500 extra (if not more). Glacier Bay was the highlight of our trip!

 

Thanks for the beautiful picture! It makes me more excited to go to Glacier Bay for the first time on my upcoming cruise.

Thanks for sharing your photos and where you went and ate in Seattle. I've been researching what to do in Seattle before our cruise and we're thinking of going to a lot of the places you went. Your review is a huge help thank you!

Thanks for the websites. I'm also looking into doing a dog sledding excursion, probably also in Juneau, so these are really helpful to me. I would like to know other's opinions if they've done these excursions or recommend any others.

Your pictures are beautiful, thanks for sharing!

They are both very different experiences. I enjoyed both of them for different reasons. In Glacier Bay you cruise up a wide body of water surrounded by mountains. At the north end of the Bay there are two different glaciers that the ship gets up close to. It is a National Park, and for good reason. If you're interested you'll find the photos I took at Glacier Bay HERE.

 

In Tracy Arm you cruise up a narrow fjord. The mountains shoot up from the water, and you get much closer to them than you do at Glacier Bay. You snake through this narrow passageway for a couple of hours, ending with a distant view of Sawyer Glacier. You'll find my photos HERE.

 

If you've never been to Alaska, either one would be impressive. However, if I had to choose, I would have to go with Glacier Bay National Park. It's an all day experience, compared to about 4 hours in Tracy Arm. And if you want to get up close to a calving glacier, it's the way to go.

Thanks for the pictures! I'm excited to see Glacier Bay for the first time this summer on my cruise. When I was in Tracy Arm Fjord, it was freezing, raining, and foggy so my pictures didn't turn out as well as yours did.

I know you want to hear about the food in the main dining room and buffets but if you can afford it, you should do the Chef's Table. They only allow 10 people/night and you have to call the DINE telephone line when you first get on the cruise to try to reserve a spot. You get to see the kitchen and the head chef prepares a multi-course meal of whatever they want for you that you can't get anywhere else on the ship and everything is delicious. It's pretty pricey though (not sure how much it is now but when I did it 2 years ago I think it was $95/person) but I highly recommend it.

I didn't have a waterproof point and shoot camera on my last Alaskan cruise and it was fine. I personally don't think you need a waterproof one unless you're doing something in or near water with the possibility of the camera getting wet like rafting or kayaking. I bought a waterproof camera for a Caribbean cruise only because I wanted to take pictures while snorkeling. It's been 2 years now and I have never needed or see myself needing to use the waterproof feature ever again for the life of the camera except that 1 time.

But, with that being said, there are some nice point and shoot cameras around that are also waterproof. You just have to do your research on which cameras you like and whether you think the waterproof feature is important to you or not. I personally like Canon and Sony cameras but that's my preference. When I was deciding which waterproof camera to buy, I found some good info that others have posted doing comparisons in the "photo & camera discussions" forum under "Digital Photography & Cruise Technology".

My motion sickness is pretty bad (I can't read anything in the car for more than 5-10 minutes without feeling nauseous) and the only time I got seasick on my last Alaskan cruise was the first day cruising in open water and it was before I took a motion sickness pill. After taking the pill, I was fine for the 2nd half of the day and for the rest of the cruise so I think your husband should be fine.

Been meaning to post on this since I got back from sailing on the Crown three weeks ago. I made it out to the graves again, and it seems that one of them is now missing its headstone. Perhaps when I get a chance to do so I can post some updated photos, but the graves have definitely seen better days.

That's really sad to hear about. I read this entire thread and as I kept reading and looking at pictures, the headstones just kept looking more and more deteriorated. Regardless, I'm still going to visit when I'm in Princess Cays next month.

Looking forward to seeing your pictures!

I love your blue sparkly shoes!! And you look beautiful, congratulations! :)

Hello all! Sorry this took so long to post, things have been pretty hectic since returning from our cruise. We made the walk to the graves on 1/13 and I took pictures along the way so everyone could see the route. The pictures can be seen at the following link. I captioned some of them to explain the steps along the way!

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/105438267705423735242/WalkToGravesAtPrincessCaysJan132012?authkey=Gv1sRgCKGfi761orz5HQ&noredirect=1

 

As stated before, the graves are in the same (albeit rough) condition as in past pictures. It took us about 30-40 minutes to get there, but we were taking our time and stopping to take pictures and enjoy the scenery. At no point were we uncomfortable or worried about our safety. It's an absolutely fantastic adventure if you ask me.

 

Enjoy!

Thanks for posting the pictures, they were beautiful! Can't wait to visit the graves. :)

This is a picture of a door poster I made for my son and new daughter-in-law for they honeymoon cruise.

I'm going on my honeymoon cruise in March. It's really cute and I want to do something similar on our door but I know it won't turn out nearly be as good as yours.

Thanks for all the posts about how to get there and what to look for. I can't wait to check out the graves as well as the lighthouse when we go in March. For the ones who have done the walk to the lighthouse, about how long does it take from the time you leave Princess Cays to the time you get back? I know it's about 3 miles to the lighthouse but I don't want to underestimate our time spent and watch our cruise ship leave without us.

I know it hasn't been talked about in awhile, but has anyone gone down to the basement of that small "Cable Landing" building yet? My fiance said he really wants to go check it out but from the pictures one person posted, it looks creepy and looks like the start of a scary movie (yeah I scare easily). :p