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Does Royal Caribbean always docks far away in Alaska?

latebuyer

By latebuyer,
in Royal Caribbean International

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latebuyer

latebuyer

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My sister was complaining because they had to bus in from the cruise ship terminal at the ports. She commented she felt like a second class citizen as a result. Is it just luck of the draw who gets the closest terminal or is rci always at a far port? She was on serenade of the seas aug 7 sailing, I recall when i was on HAL i never had to bus in so i was surprised by this.

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smokeybandit

smokeybandit

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A second class citizen because she had to take a bus?

 

RC docks in Sitka and has a 10 minute bus ride. Other lines tender in. I'd rather take a bus.

 

RC docks further away in Juneau and offers a bus if you don't want to walk. But it's a 2 minute bus ride.  Princess and HAL pay more for docks closer.

 

RC docks in Skagway further away than Princess and HAL. But the walk is the length of the ship further than others.

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smokeybandit

smokeybandit

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5 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

Thanks for the reply. My sister commented it took quite a bit of time so you must have had to wait for quite some time. It was nice to just walk off with HAL

Sitka can be a wait at the prime times when there are multiple ships in port. But the tender folks are waiting, too.

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Joseph2017China

Joseph2017China

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Well, I was in AK and did not have to take any busses....but some places did have busses to get around, but those were not needed unless you had a special need for it.  So maybe it's just a complaint.....but also, AK is pretty hilly, and does require a good amount of walking.

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Oceansaway17 Holiday Sharing Rare

Oceansaway17

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in Juneau both Ovation and Quantum get the prime spot in town. Radiance and Serenade would if no if no other big ship was in port.

 

For Icy point, RCI has a great spot and is closer than NCL 

but for Ketchikan yes RCI will dock out of town and also for Sitka as well.  Skagway is hit or miss but I assume they are not tendering in from the back dock which in a way is good as the tender will get you in to the town.

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johnintx

johnintx

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36 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

in Juneau both Ovation and Quantum get the prime spot in town. Radiance and Serenade would if no if no other big ship was in port.

 

For Icy point, RCI has a great spot and is closer than NCL 

but for Ketchikan yes RCI will dock out of town and also for Sitka as well.  Skagway is hit or miss but I assume they are not tendering in from the back dock which in a way is good as the tender will get you in to the town.

There are other threads on the subject, but Skagway is in a state of flux right now. The Railroad dock, where RC docks, is partially closed. The forward position is closed, while the aft position is open. However, they are tendering from the aft position.

 

We're on Ovation in two weeks. It's scheduled to dock in the aft position of the Railroad dock, but we will tender into town. It's my first cruise, so I don't know how this is going to go. It looks like it's not a big deal.

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Oceansaway17 Holiday Sharing Rare

Oceansaway17

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18 hours ago, johnintx said:

There are other threads on the subject, but Skagway is in a state of flux right now. The Railroad dock, where RC docks, is partially closed. The forward position is closed, while the aft position is open. However, they are tendering from the aft position.

 

We're on Ovation in two weeks. It's scheduled to dock in the aft position of the Railroad dock, but we will tender into town. It's my first cruise, so I don't know how this is going to go. It looks like it's not a big deal.

look up Chris Wong on You Tube and a couple weeks ago he did a video showing the tendering.

He works in the casino as a manager and this video shows the dock as well.  check it out

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latebuyer

latebuyer

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This question seems related so i'll post it here. I had booked excursions in sitka, ketchikan and juneau (i got 35% off). In thinking about it, it now seems a good idea as i'll avoid busing into town. However, i'm wondering how easy it is to find the bus pick up stop on the way back if you are getting a drive and don't know where it is. Only ketchikan has an excursion i wouldn't want to cancel (deadliest catch tour) so i'm wondering about this. I'd hate to get lost and stranded in one of these towns!

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Tree_skier "Live from...." Rare

Tree_skier

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7 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

This question seems related so i'll post it here. I had booked excursions in sitka, ketchikan and juneau (i got 35% off). In thinking about it, it now seems a good idea as i'll avoid busing into town. However, i'm wondering how easy it is to find the bus pick up stop on the way back if you are getting a drive and don't know where it is. Only ketchikan has an excursion i wouldn't want to cancel (deadliest catch tour) so i'm wondering about this. I'd hate to get lost and stranded in one of these towns!

If you are on a ship excursion there is little chance of getting lost.  That being said, I can't imagine that if you did a self guided tour not sponsored by the cruise line that you would end up lost either.  It's all pretty strait forward.

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Tlbecker1

Tlbecker1

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25 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

This question seems related so i'll post it here. I had booked excursions in sitka, ketchikan and juneau (i got 35% off). In thinking about it, it now seems a good idea as i'll avoid busing into town. However, i'm wondering how easy it is to find the bus pick up stop on the way back if you are getting a drive and don't know where it is. Only ketchikan has an excursion i wouldn't want to cancel (deadliest catch tour) so i'm wondering about this. I'd hate to get lost and stranded in one of these towns!

In Ketchikan and Juneau the ship is right downtown, I don’t see how you could get lost.  Sitka downtown is a short bus ride from the port.  All shore excursions will pick you up right at the port and bring you back there.

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Ashland

Ashland

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4 hours ago, latebuyer said:

This question seems related so i'll post it here. I had booked excursions in sitka, ketchikan and juneau (i got 35% off). In thinking about it, it now seems a good idea as i'll avoid busing into town. However, i'm wondering how easy it is to find the bus pick up stop on the way back if you are getting a drive and don't know where it is. Only ketchikan has an excursion i wouldn't want to cancel (deadliest catch tour) so i'm wondering about this. I'd hate to get lost and stranded in one of these towns!

We did the Deadliest Catch tour (again) this past September onboard RCI Serenade. We docked right next to where the Aleution Ballad was docked..just a few steps away and down the covered ramp. 

 

FYI...go get in line early to get your choice of seats. If you booked through the cruiseline you'll just need your excursion ticket to board. 

 

We've usually booked direct with the company on their website but for the first time booking through the ship was cheaper...very surprised.

 

Docking in Juneau we couldn't have been farther out (this was a first for us) however they did offer a shuttle bus and lines were long both going and coming back with a drop off pick up near the edge of town.

 

Sitka a shuttle bus is needed to get into town...again roundtrip. We purchased a tour to the Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center from a person selling this tour as we exited the shuttle bus. This worked out great.

 

Remember the docking locations can vary depending on how many ships are in port. The docking location in Juneau was the worst we've seen during our 5 cruises on RCI for Alaska and there was only one ship docked there with us that day which made no sense.

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Ashland

Ashland

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3 hours ago, latebuyer said:

Thanks Ashland, may i ask how much you paid for your combo bear/raptor tour? I have something booked but it only goes to the raptor centre.

Sorry I can't remember exactly but I do know I researched it before we cruised using the cruiseline and a couple of private options and what we ended up paying was considerably cheaper and we were very happy we ended up booking it this way instead.

 

You won't have any trouble as you get off the cruise shuttle bus as the operator of this excursion was right there with a BIG sign and had a couple of buses waiting. We paid, got on the bus that filled up quickly and we were on our way. This was a great tour to both places.

 

I had read about this option being a possibility and was so happy (as was my extended family of 6 that included two of our grand kids) it turned out to be so easy.

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Kathscof

Kathscof

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10 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

BTW: Princess(Carnival) owns the town of Skagway.

 


 

 

okay, not the town, but they do own the railway. (Yes, I understand the ownership) 

They own a national historical park? Carnival is a minority partner in the railway...

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Kathscof

Kathscof

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Ketchikan, we were the first ship in, closest to downtown.  Haines, there is only one dock.  As close as you can get to the downtown that is a bit up the hill.  Skagway we were the first in the railroad dock.  Juneau was far, but there was a shuttle, and you could walk in like 10 min.  Icy Strait Point is right there basically at the base of the zip line, but the town of Hoonah is about a mile and a half away, as there is not the possibility of a dock in town, you take what you can get....but they have a shuttle and most of the points of interest are at the port. 

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Joseph2017China

Joseph2017China

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15 hours ago, latebuyer said:

This question seems related so i'll post it here. I had booked excursions in sitka, ketchikan and juneau (i got 35% off). In thinking about it, it now seems a good idea as i'll avoid busing into town. However, i'm wondering how easy it is to find the bus pick up stop on the way back if you are getting a drive and don't know where it is. Only ketchikan has an excursion i wouldn't want to cancel (deadliest catch tour) so i'm wondering about this. I'd hate to get lost and stranded in one of these towns!

Not really sure how you can get lost.  But you can always use google maps, or imaps on your phone to get directions. Or you can do the old school way, and follow people, or maybe ask for directions.  But in a bind, just walk downhill and eventually you will come to the water.

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