georgiacat

Where is the best luau in Honolulu?

Has anyone stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, Waikiki? How was it? How far is it from a beach?

I do not know who is running the train system that I saw. I was sitting in the waiting area for my Seattle flight from Vancouver. I saw through the window passenger trains, seats with large windows, with Seattle Seahawks colors and markings go by at least 3 times. The trains were very short, maybe engine and 2 cars. They were traveling at high rate of speed, and it was hard to tell if people were in them. They were definitely not freight trains. They would appear to be a commuter system, but I do not know anything else about them. Looked nice.

We have returned from our June, 2022 Princess cruisetour that started in Fairbanks and finished in Vancouver. Just some information about Fairbanks and other general stuff. We had a wonderful time. It was exhausting. MOSQUITOES are in full bloom. Even the natives say they are having a bumper crop this year for the tourists, not a problem on ship, just inland. At least half of the planes and buses were coughing heads off. We kept masks on all the time and practiced safe health measures. Flying - all planes were full (and offering to buy seats). Delta is using smaller planes. We had to wait for pilots and staff to come in from other places sometimes. They were severely limiting carry on size and number of luggage.Options from Vancouver to Seattle (that I did not know about): Princess offers bus transfers from ship to Seattle airport. Seattle train goes frequently between Vancouver and Seattle airport (presumably). While waiting for our first flight from Vancouver, I watched at least 3 of the Seattle decorated trains fly by the window. What a way to advertise. Fairbanks: Not many stores are open on Sundays. Lots of construction downtown. Great place to eat: The Crepery. Hubby had the Bavarian and I had the crab, both delicious, $13 each, large. They were very busy. Fairbanks Princess Lodge: I think we were the first people of the season there. Staff were very friendly and welcoming. Room 261 was very good. Use credit card to pay for things (cashless place). Dining room breakfast buffet - very good, $20.95 pp. Dinner buffet - not so go, ran out of food, tasteless, slow service, $34.95 pp Grill - limited choice of about 4 sandwiches - good food, slow service, about $15-20 per sandwich with chips. Gift shop - coffee and snacks (did not try) Shuttle service: Call for shuttle, about $5 pp; usually full. Got phone number from front desk. No city bus service on weekends. A tour guide told us that the city bus route is complicated, the bus does not go directly from Lodge to downtown, must make changes. Gold Dredge tour and Paddle Boat tours both very nice.

Our cabin steward asked for our confirmation code for ArriveCAN. He had to turn it in; request was on paper from Princess. I printed the code on the same paper and gave it to him. We do not do smart phones; everything is paper for us. Also had to fill out customs declaration. We sailed from Whittier to Vancouver. I learned that Victoria is where everyone on board ship is "entered" into Canada. We did not get off the ship ourselves. They do it all electronically. That may be why Victoria debarking is delayed, until Canada gets all the paperwork for everyone cleared.

Bring your own laundry pods and dryer sheets. Sometimes the dispensers are out of order. Put a few in a zip lock baggie. It does not take up much room in the suitcase; saves money too. At the end of the cruise, any extra I have left I leave in the laundry room for guests or crew to pick up and use.

What I found out yesterday after several failed attempts to fill out what I could prior to our trip (to save time later), I had established an account with ArriveCAN. I signed in again and looked around before jumping in. At the top there are tabs that have different things. The second from the left says "travelers". I entered that and put in name, address, passport, and vaccination information and uploaded pictures of vac cards. The date we are sailing and entering Canada is too far out and there was no save button; however, I exited, went back, and the information had been saved. Later I will enter the site and put in the dates and print out pages. Hope this helps.

Thank you; that looks interesting. As a senior we could ride for free. Do you happen to know if it stops close to the Princess Riverside Lodge?

We are staying at the Fairbanks Princess Riverfront Hotel a couple of days prior to starting our land part of our cruisetour. We had thought of visiting the Museum of the North on the University of Alaska campus. What are the transportation options to get from our hotel to the Museum and eating options in downtown Fairbanks? shuttle bus/taxi/uber? We do not have smart phones and do not wish to rent a car. Thanks for your help. Could we rent a local for a day?

We are considering the HOHO bus option for our cruise stop in Victoria. We only have a few hours and do not wish to spend a lot of time going to/from Buchart gardens. Does anyone know how close the HOHO stop is to where cruise passengers disembark? Also where it is? Has anyone done this HOHO bus tour? advice?