Kesstral

YAY thank you!! OMG so excited, just a week to go!

It's also our 8th wedding anniversary the day before with embark. Celebrations all around. ;)

Whale watching in Juneau.

I've only kayaked in Ketchikan so can only recommend that port.

Here's the other guide that is floating around. Useful for all the ports.

http://claalaska.com/?page_id=1551

I'm in my mid 30's and DH is early 40's. We're not into a party scene (usually in bed by 10pm ourselves due to early shifts and a 3 year old). We're sailing HAL for a second time and have no concerns about the atmosphere. The stack of board games we're taking with us is our planned entertainment (plus have a few books on the go) so I don't really need the ship to keep me busy. I sailed on Allure a few years ago and it was a different experience which I wouldn't avoid in the future. For us this upcoming cruise is about getting away and relaxing for a week so my office can't call me (and seeing how well DD does on the trip). Plus I really enjoyed that pea soup last time!

I spoke with ship services and they said something about not being able to offer both prices online but I can pay the extra on the ship if we decide for the mimosa option.

I couldn't view the brunch menu either but decided to book it anyway (since the whole point of the cruise is to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday) and didn't want to miss out on the timeslot we wanted. I'm a little annoyed that there was no price option, it billed us $25pp and there was no way to select the $35 option. I contacted HAL support and was told to contact ship services (not that we really need the mimosas).

 

We had never been to Costa Maya before, so this was a new port for us! Including the Rotterdam, there were three ships in port that day, although nothing felt overly crowded!

 

 

 

That is an awesome photo! I've only been on 4 ships and those are 2 of them together!

If disembarking on a Wednesday from the Coral Princess, could I make a UA flight to the US that leaves at 10:35am? If not, then the next flight is DL at 3:10pm. I have not bought one way tickets yet, and I hate hanging around airports all day.

Or perhaps I can spend one night in Vancouver and fly home Thursday when no cruise ships will be disembarking and I can more easily get a decent fare and leave when I want.

I agree with CruiserBruce. A 10:35am US flight from Vancouver means you should be at the airport at the latest 8:30am. You have to go through check in, security and US Customs before boarding. Not worth the stress of trying to be the first off the ship. Stay in town for a night and get a little more vacation in if you can!

I will also be disembarking on a Wednesday and I know there are 3 ships in town when I'm disembarking (thankfully I'm not flying anywhere after).

I used Southeast Sea Kayaks for their Orcas Cove tour last time we were in Ketchikan and have booked them again for next month. My husband and I really enjoyed the tour and little boat ride to where the kayaks were for us.

I agree that it doesn't matter which side. In my experience sea days (the first day up and last day back) are too far from the shoreline to really matter if you you have a view from your stateroom (and there are lots of great places on the ship to sit anyway). In Glacier Bay the captain will turn the ship around at the glaciers and in Tracy Arm you get the same view on the way back out of the fjord from the opposite side.

My knee-jerk reaction to "visa" is "ask the country you're entering!"

 

CC posters generally get it right, but the keyword is "generally": I remember reading

that "Former U.S. President G.W. Bush had to get a special waiver to enter Canada

because of his 1976 drunken-driving offense in Maine."

Yes because a DUI is a conviction that can deem you criminally inadmissible to Canada! Not fun, I have experience with the paperwork (not for myself specifically).

If you do have the ship take your item (be it knife, alcohol, etc) make sure you remember they did at the end of your cruise! My husband almost totally forgot they kept the pocket ulu knife he had purchased and we had to run back into the cruise terminal to find someone to help us! It worked out in the end but had we been a little farther out (or on an airport transfer, etc) it would have been too late.

As a Canadian living within 30 minutes of the US border we all have passports and wouldn't consider not having them (so grateful Canada now offers 10 year). My daughter got hers when she was only a couple months old. She even has a Nexus card (it was free so figured why not when I renewed mine).

It seems to be a totally different story for US citizens and opinions vary widely.

Where do you plan to travel? How prepared are you for an emergency? How many passports do you need for your family (if you have to get several, staggered renewals hurts the least financially)? Its getting harder and harder to travel without one so I'd always recommend having a passport if possible. If you decide not to get them, make sure you are very clear on what your alternate documentation is (eg birth certificate, real or notarized copy??).

I believe the visa is technically granted when you enter through Canada Customs. If you are a US citizen you and have nothing that would bar you entry to the country (such as criminal charges) then you dont need a separate visa. If they stamp your passport and dont write a date you are allowed entry to Canada for 6 months. If they write a date your entry is good until the date written.

"American citizens, including American-Canadian citizens, must carry proper identification and meet the basic requirements to enter Canada. You do not need a Canadian passport, a Canadian visa or an eTA to enter Canada if you are travelling with a valid U.S. passport."

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1116&top=16

I just clicked the link and BOOM giant Princess ship in my face! It then panned over to the Rotterdam, that ship looks tiny in comparison.

Try paying your fare in Canadian dollars! $325 CAD per person for 7 night cruise to Alaska with Glacier Bay from Vancouver. Sucks but I just consider it part of the price of our vacation. Now if only the Canadian dollar would get closer to par like last time we cruised (vacationing in the US is expensive right now). :(

I can't comment on the different cruise lines because I've haven't tried Princess or Celebrity but I'd say start with your dates and find an itinerary you like (and get an idea of your budget) and then look at what is available. Then look at the options between those lines if there is more than one line offering.

How you are going to get to the port (and which port) might matter as well (can you get a direct flight or drive?).

I think it depends on your budget. If you are trying to decide between getting a balcony and being able to do any excursions while in port or maybe between getting a balcony and being able to take that flight seeing/helicopter/(insert other expensive or once in a lifetime excursion here) then I don' think it's worth it to get the balcony.

If you have the budget for the balcony and everything else you want do then go for it. But I wouldn't NOT go on an Alaskan cruise just because I couldn't get a balcony. :)

Wouldn't you hate to be the passenger behind the 25th million. Especially if they had cut in line.

sandra

Or the passenger before!

On a serious note, I'm curious how this is calculated. Is the 25 million counted as cruiser's embark (when the check in at the counter) or disembark? And what about ships that only have Vancouver at the start or end of their trip? Would they count a B2B passenger twice?

So many questions!! I think I need more coffee this morning :S

My husband and I are taking our 3 year old and my mom on a cruise next month! This will be our second cruise on HAL and my daughter's first. The atmosphere on HAL ships suits us well (we're not going for late night parties) and I've read good things about their kids club mainly due to not having a swarm of children on board.

I don't have any experience yet with trying to keep a teenager entertained but you know your kids best. I think its just going to be a matter of how well they travel and making sure they don't get into trouble. Have you or they ever cruised before?

The Port of Vancouver will be celebrating it's 25th million passenger at Canada Place this May. News articles suggest the honor will go to a HAL ship!

Wonder which will be the lucky vessel?

I can't speak for the other ports but I used Southeast Seas Kayak (http://www.kayakketchikan.com) on my last Alaska cruise in 2014 and had a great time instead of booking a different company through the ship. My husband and I never kayaked before and it went really well. We did luck out with some amazing weather and no one else booked on our tour (their groups are may 8 or 6 depending on the tour).

We are going back next month and I've booked the same tour.

We’re looking at May this time but I worry that it’s so early in the season. Any thoughts from those who have gone in the month of May?

I've only been to Alaska in May and about to go for the 4th time next month! (Just happens to be when our wedding anniversary is.) I can't comment on what the weather is like the rest of the season but I've experienced quite a few sunny days in all of our port stops and probably one day of actual rain in each city on different cruises. The weather overall is going to be cool and there is always a chance of rain (June and July show lowest average rainfall in Ketchikan for example with May just a little higher). Being from Vancouver, BC it's just like home so I'm prepared for it.

The mountains usually still have snow on them and I find it beautiful.

Be careful of which itinerary you pick. My first two cruises were Tracy Arm and we were soooooooo far from the glacier due to the sea ice. Last cruise was Glacier bay and much better (next cruise is Glacier bay as well).

Looking at the port schedules May seems to have fewer ships overall in each port which helps if you don't like crowds.

We're booked in H3427 next January and we're hoping what we've been told is true - that it has the new shower-only bathroom. We'd really appreciate it If you could specifically ask your cabin steward about that. Don't go to a lot of trouble, but if you can confirm it, please let us know when you get back.

Will do!

I found the 2017 deck plans and the text is the same for the descriptions so I'm expecting the renos have been done.

This should be interesting. I just booked Volendam for May 9th as a last minute "omg I need a vacation!/my mom's 60th birthday/our wedding anniversary/mother's day". Unfortunately booking this close means I don't get choice pick of rooms (needed 2 connecting for the 4 of us) but managed to get the "obstructed ocean view" combo of 3421 and 3425 (I have seen pictures of the view online so I know what I'm getting myself into).

I saw the comments about the tubs being removed (I was looking forward to the tub, having a 3 year old) but it wont make or break the cruise for us. I went back and checked over the deck plans on HAL's website and I see the rooms at the fore and aft of deck 3 still list a tub/shower while most of the other (higher category ocean view) rooms list a shower only.

I will report back my findings!