JT1962

Owned by Carnival, great snorkeling and easy beach day.

Carnival, like most cruise lines and other businesses, are having staffing shortages. I was on the Ecstasy last week and experienced lines and slow service at all food venues, but not as bad as what you mention (10-20 min at most locations unless peak times). I think this will continue to be an issue for a while. The cruise lines need to get back to full passenger capacity to make money, but that may be a mistake in the long run if passengers are disappointed in the onboard experience and decide not to return in the future.

I used Juneau Whale Watch and would recommend them as a good fit between the smaller 6 - 10 passenger boats and the large boats used by the cruise ship excursions. There were 22 passengers the day I went (the boat holds around 25). There was plenty of space for everyone to have a good view without having to look over or around others. They have outside viewing areas on the front & rear of the lower deck and the full top deck, if you don’t mind climbing the ladder. They also handed out bottles of water and a snack choice of chips or cookies.

I always pack a couple of bottles of these. Easy to take ashore and only have a cough suppressant if you don’t need the other meds that usually are combined in some brands. https://www.dollartree.com/valu-health-lasting-cough-relief-softgels-15ct-packs/334223

Kroschel Wildlife Center is excellent. In 2017, we rented a car in Haines and went to Kroschel, the Chilkoot and Chilkat State Parks and drive some of the Haines Hwy.

There were tour booths at the pier in Juneau last month. September is getting late in the season, so no guarantees there will be multiple vendors still set up.

Based on my Alaska cruise last month, you will need to show a marine entry in Victoria to get the code needed to board your ship in Whittier. Then once aboard, you will do a request for a land crossing at Fraser BC from Skagway within 3 days of your arrival in Skagway. That said, they only asked to see the QR code at boarding, not in Fraser or Victoria. Save screenshots of both QR codes, just in case.

Whittier is very small. Your best option for a back-up testing location will be in Anchorage.

True. It was announced a couple of weeks ago that they would close temporarily due to staffing issues. https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/27508-staff-shortage-carnival-to-limit-dining-options-across-fleet.html

ISP has the World’s Longest Zipline. You can book it once onshore or through your cruise line.

I have used Viator, TripAdvisor, ShoreExcursioneer and others with good results. When possible, I try to book directly with the vendors. You can get a good idea of vendors by reading prior reviews or the port boards here. On my recent cruise I had great results with Chilkoot Charters in Skagway, Juneau Whale Watch in Juneau and Hoonah Adventures in Icy Strait Point. I have used Glacier Winds at ISP in the past as well.

Here is a recent discussion in several options. The cheapest is the City Bus, but it drops you 1.5 miles from the Visitor Center. Most opt for one of the shuttle bus companies that average around $ 50 per person roundtrip.

Yes, you must take the gondola to get to the open air land tram at the top. I’m not sure about one ticket for both. I did not do either a few weeks ago, but did see that tickets were required for the mountain gondola while the gondola between the two ports was free. I can’t speak to what NCL includes (I was on Carnival), but I doubt they include the mountain gondola or open air tram. I would think it is similar to Royal Caribbean & CocoCay or Carnival & Mahogany Bay / Amber Cove, where some things are included, but additional attractions like chair lifts, water slides & zip-lines cost extra.

This article and link may help: You can take the mountain-top gondola to reach the Hoonah Mountain 360 Tram Tour. This one-and-a-half-hour tour shows you some of the most iconic places of Alaska from 1800 ft. above a cruise ship. If you love to get a bird’s eye view of a city, you shouldn’t miss the gondola and the tram ride. The open-air trams give you a 360-degree view of the mountain ranges of Alaska and its Inside Passage that includes the muskegs, glacially carved reflecting ponds and first growth forest. The tram ride stops at various places allowing you to enjoy the serene beauty of Icy Strait and take photos. In fact, you can hike a little and hop on the next tram that comes. The tickets for the tram ride are available with the gondola tickets. Therefore, don’t forget to enjoy both rides when you are in Icy Strait Point. https://icystraitpointexcursions.com/why-the-icy-strait-point-gondola-is-a-must-ride-for-tourists/

Departure at 1:30 would usually mean all aboard by 1:00. I would want to catch the return bus no later than Noon to allow for any possible traffic delays. With that schedule, I would be more comfortable with a ship tour. If you get at least an hour at the glacier, you can make it to Nugget Falls and back with a quick bathroom stop if you can walk at a reasonable pace.

Is your boarding time 1:30 or the ship leaves at 1:30, meaning all aboard would usually be 1:00. The 7:30 with Juneau Tours is doable, but you have to watch your time. You would need to be off the ship quickly to meet the tour at the tram at 7:30. Depending on where you dock, the tram could be a 5 or 15 min walk. One ship actually used tenders when I was there in early May, so that would make a difference. The time to the whale watching boat, actual whale watching tour and trip to the glacier is around 3 hours +/-. You should be to the glacier a little before 11:00. If you walk quickly, you can get to nugget falls, spend 8-10 min there taking photos and be back to the bus stop in 45 min or so. If you stop at the Visitor Center for a restroom break, add 10 - 12 min. A walk to an additional good viewing point of the glacier will add another 10 - 20 min., depending on how far you go and stay. In a perfect scenario, you could do all of that, catch the 12:30 bus and be back to the tram drop off area before 1:00.

7:00 - 1:30 is a tight schedule. I would probably consider either a combination tour through the ship (to guarantee the ship will wait) or choose just whale watching or the glacier, if booked independently. If your itinerary includes Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), the whale watching there is excellent if you choose just the glacier in Juneau.

Yes, Fraser is the first Canadian Border Station after crossing the border, although it is several miles past the border at a lower elevation.

I used Juneau Whale Watch since they do the Mendenhall Glacier after the whale watching and give you flexibility on how long you want to stay at the glacier. Their return buses run every 1/2 hour, so you can stay as long as you want to. Just allow enough time to get back to the ship and / or don’t miss the last bus. https://www.juneauwhalewatch.com/tours/mendenhall-glacier-juneau-whale-watching-combo-tour/

It’s a great time to cruise. On my January cruise on Meraviglia there were less than 600 passengers. No waiting anywhere, only shared an elevator twice, etc.

Since the OP is on Quantum of the Seas, I assume they are asking about Icy Strait Point, since I don’t see Juneau listed on any June itinerary. I was in Icy Strait Point / Hoonah a few weeks ago and can provide some information on the gondola / aerial tramway. There are actually 2 aerial trams: - One that transports visitors between the original pier, now called Adventure Landing, and the new NCL Pier at Wilderness Point. This was free in early May. - One that goes to the top of the mountain from the Wilderness Point area. This was $ 59.99 (I think, I did not use it). It was for unlimited rides from what I saw and I heard included a nature land tram ride at the top. I believe the Zip Line riders also now use this to get to the top rather than the large truck / UTVs used previously. Some recommendations from my observations: - Don’t buy a ticket for the mountain gondola until you arrive and see what the weather is like. The main attraction is the view and if it is foggy / raining, it may not be worth it. - If you dock at the original pier (Adventure Landing), you can buy tickets for the gondola, zip line, etc. as you exit the pier. If you just want the mountain gondola / tram, and there is a line, take the free tram to the other pier at Wilderness Point and buy your tickets there with no waiting. That only works if there is not also a ship docked at the Wilderness Point pier. - There are nice trails near the piers and one that connects the two piers. It seems to be more of a downhill walk from the original pier (Adventure Landing) to the new pier (Wilderness Point). I would suggest walking the trail at least once, then riding the free aerial tram back.

You will get conflicting answers here and from Carnival. As I read the Carnival & CDC website, only those up-to-date on CDC RECOMMENDED vaccines & boosters can test 3 days prior. The CDC now recommends boosters for everyone over age 11, and a 2nd Booster for those over 50 and more than 4 months since their first booster. Rather than take a chance, I would take the test 2 days prior. That is what I am doing next week, even though my Carnival PVP says 3 days is still ok. Of course he is not the one who actually verifies the information at the pier.

Currently for Carnival cruises that includes Canada, fully vaccinated & up-to-date can take a PCR reset 72-24 hours before the cruise or Antigen test anytime in the 2 days prior. From Carnival website: * BERMUDA AND CANADA: Fully vaccinated guests traveling to Bermuda and Canada, including those who are up to date with their vaccines, can take either a PCR test between 72 and 24 hours prior to sailing, or an antigen pre-cruise test no earlier than two days prior to sailing, in order to comply with CDC and destination regulations. https://www.carnival.com/Legal/covid-19-legal-notices/covid-19-guest-protocols?icid=advisory_cruisehealth_040122 From the Canadian Website for cruises visiting Canada: - Proof of a professionally administered or observed negative antigen test taken no more than 2 days before you’re scheduled to board your ship the 2-day window does not depend on the time of day the test was taken or the time that you board for example, if your ship is scheduled to leave on Friday, you could provide proof of a negative result from an antigen test taken any time on Wednesday, Thursday, or on Friday it must be administered or observed by a pharmacy, laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth online service the test must be authorized for sale or distribution in Canada or in the jurisdiction in which it was obtained - Proof of a valid negative molecular test taken within 72 hours of your scheduled boarding time for example, if you’re scheduled to board at 11:00 am on Friday, your test must have been taken any time after 10:59 am on Tuesday https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

It should be refunded to your original form of payment. I canceled an excursion on my early May cruise prior to sailing and it took 5-7 days for the refund to be processed.

I did mine again, but they never asked for it. Chilkoot emailed me a few days before I left and said they needed my passport information to provide to Canada. I believe the ArriveCAN information is linked to your passport, so they probably saw where I had done it originally.