Royal Princess Alaska

[bobrxlex]

Has anyone been on Royal to Alaska this year?  I was wondering how the water shuttle in Skagway was and how hard and long it took to get to town.  I believe the ships dock in RRF (railroad front) which requires water shuttle.  It says ship docks at 6am so when do they start letting you off.  Any info helps.  Thanks

[CLM0928]

I would love to know too as we go next month.

[Rick&Jeannie]

I have not done Skagway this year, but we had good luck last year. It's a VERY short tender ride...they just run you around the end of the ship to a smaller dock...easy peasy. As far as "getting into town"...it's a short 5-10 minute walk. We've done it. 

[nwnittany]

15 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I have not done Skagway this year, but we had good luck last year. It's a VERY short tender ride...they just run you around the end of the ship to a smaller dock...easy peasy. As far as "getting into town"...it's a short 5-10 minute walk. We've done it. 

We had the same experience last summer.  Short tender, short walk, etc.  The only slight inconvenience is what you get with any tender....ie, might have a line to wait in.....

[SuzieQ521]

We were on it this past May. 

 

For us, the water shuttle was very fast and efficient from RRF.

 

If you have a Princess excursion, you will receive tickets the night before to meet at a certain time somewhere on the ship...ours was in the Princess Theater. at 9 am.

(those with independent excursions have to line up after or try to request a tender ticket the day before and it will tell you the time to line up).

 

They then take people in groups onto the tender boats which is a very short ride (about 5-10 min);you then get off at the dock which is right where the line for the Railroad starts (if that's your excursion). Otherwise, you can take a 15 minute walk into town or use one of the free shuttles to get there.

Edited July 11, 2023 by SuzieQ521

[Coral]

Maybe this pic will help:

 

[trin880]

2 hours ago, SuzieQ521 said:

We were on it this past May. 

 

For us, the water shuttle was very fast and efficient from RRF.

 

If you have a Princess excursion, you will receive tickets the night before to meet at a certain time somewhere on the ship...ours was in the Princess Theater. at 9 am.

(those with independent excursions have to line up after or try to request a tender ticket the day before and it will tell you the time to line up).

 

They then take people in groups onto the tender boats which is a very short ride (about 5-10 min);you then get off at the dock which is right where the line for the Railroad starts (if that's your excursion). Otherwise, you can take a 15 minute walk into town or use one of the free shuttles to get there.

Where one would request a tender ticket? I am considering an independent excursion.

[FastShip24]

When i was there Sept 22, on carnival, it was celebrity that used tenders

[FastShip24]

10 minutes ago, trin880 said:

Where one would request a tender ticket? I am considering an independent excursion.

You just get on

[SuzieQ521]

18 minutes ago, trin880 said:

Where one would request a tender ticket? I am considering an independent excursion.

I believe you can request a tender ticket (that way you have a set time to get off the ship by groups) the night before but you can ask Guest services. The information will also be in the Patter so take a look at that.

[Buckeye10640]

6 hours ago, trin880 said:

Where one would request a tender ticket? I am considering an independent excursion.

I was on Royal in May, and we had a private excursion booked with a 915am meet time. We picked up tender tickets at the Photo Gallery around 815, had a short wait before our group was called, and were at the pier by 845.

 

Note, our ship docked early, maybe 6am. You could not request tender tickets the night before as someone else mentioned. You were to get tickets when your party was present and ready to go ashore, and then were to stay in the general piazza area to hear your group called. 

Edited July 11, 2023 by Buckeye10640

[Navatrix23]

We just returned from Alaska on the Royal and the tender process was very easy. We weren't in a huge hurry to get off, so we had breakfast and waited until the big rush had passed. We walked to the designated area (they'll announce where that is) they gave us a ticket and we walked right on the tender. You'll probably wait at busy times. The tenders hokd over 100 people, so it goes fast. It was a 5-10 minute ride at the most. Just around the end of the ship to avoid the landslide area. The return is just first come, first served. Being first time cruisers, we were nervous about the process,  but it was very organized and they keep you informed.