CruiseMom82

Wont travel insurance generally refund the hotel costs if the cruise gets cancelled too?

Yes I can attest that the cruise port is in the nicer part of town. A number of historic sites, restaurants, and shops you can walk to. Lots of beautiful buildings too. There are a few rougher areas so I wouldn’t walk for miles.

Thank you! I have been able to see/book them in the website but not in the app yet. Appreciate the info. I have an iPhone btw

Thank you all so much for your thoughts we have decided just to spend an extra day in Vancouver. Now if we could just figure out the testing requirements… I will try to post some thing about our experiences, perhaps not a full blog, so other people can understand what they might need to do later in the season.

It seems like you should be able to reserve excursions in the app, but i cannot see any way to do this. Sorry if I am missing the obvious.

We just got our sons passport renewed and both of us, my husband and I, had to be present to submit the application. I guess they figured that if the other parent didn’t want them to travel they wouldn’t give permission for the passport. I have also had friends that have had really bad experiences, because they were of a different ethnicity from their spouse. When they were traveling they were actually accused of abducted and their child. I think a note from the other parent couldn’t hurt. Better safe than sorry.

I’m also confused. We are sailing out of Vancouver in May after flying in from the US, and flights got changed so now we’ll arrive 2 days before sailing date. Not sure which test to take or when. I hope it gets clarified before then. Should I lean on my travel agent to have requirements confirmed?

Hi everyone! We are scheduled to cruise to Alaska from Vancouver in May, and we are flying there from the Southeastern US. I booked two one-way flights months ago, as this was the best way to get a good schedule and price. Both of the flights have had schedule changes from the airline. I managed to reschedule the departure flight to a better schedule after they changed it. Now, it’s been changed again! Now we are scheduled to arrive a whole day earlier than planned (already planned to arrive night before cruise boards). I’m in need of some advice. We are leaving our kids at home with a relative and this new change means additional child care, hotel costs, and complications to the COVID testing timeline. Plus hubby may not be able to take off an extra work day. Not sure if I can get the airline to cancel and refund, but we do have travel insurance. If I do book a new flight, the ones available are more expensive or not a good schedule. And they could always change the schedule again I suppose Air2Sea didn’t seem an option when I booked, but I’m not sure it would have made a difference. On the plus side, Vancouver looks awesome, so it would be great to have an extra day to explore. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I wouldn't risk taking those substances on any cruise or flight. I really wouldn't. But that's just me. Maybe I'm risk averse.

I may be able to offer some advice, since I just renewed my son's passport. He was born abroad so I am always nervous to have him travel with just his birth certificate, in case TSA doesn't think it looks "right." When applying for the new passport this time, we opted for the expedited process, which costs $60 extra, and we received it in about 4 weeks. The state department right now estimates 5-7 weeks for expedited and 8-11 weeks for normal, but ours was ready sooner than that. We also paid for priority mail, which may have helped. Something else to consider is that it looks like passports cost $30 more for over 16 years old. I could see the advantage of wanting to have it be good for 10 years rather than 5 years, but I personally would not wait until after her birthday unless you are willing to pay for the expedited process, and than it becomes an issue of pay now vs. pay later. I would not count on the standard process to get it to you in time, if you wait till May to start it.

Awesome info! I’m not sure if I have a euro plug adapter but I definitely have one for the UK, if these are the same or if there’s also a UK plug. I know all about the voltage requirements, having fried a blow dryer in the past when traveling abroad! And I already got a nice set of binoculars ready to go. Thanks again you guys! The information about the Internet and phone usage is especially helpful.

Thank you so much to all of you for the helpful replies I am really looking forward to the trip now! Also wondering what changes might be a foot as the Serenade is currently in dry dock.

Hello all I am sailing on the Serenade to Alaska with my husband in May, and this will be my first cruise! I have some “dumb questions” that I’m sure some of you more experienced cruisers will be able to answer. Thanks very much in advance! 1. Do the state rooms really only have two power outlets? Do they have additional ones that are on a different standard, and if so is it possible to use a converter? 2. How do you go about sharing your surf and stream package between two devices? I have already purchased a single device package with the understanding that my husband and I can both use it as long as we are not using it at the same time, but I’m really not sure how this would work. 3. I’m trying to figure out what is the best way to make phone calls. We have AT&T which I assume will work in all the ports, but will we be able to use Wi-Fi calling on the ship? 4. I’ve heard some people talk about having two breakfasts, one in the room and then one in the dining room or buffet restaurant. Is this really a thing? I would love to be able to just order coffee in the room and then go sit down and eat after a little while. 5. Are there blackout curtains in the room? I think it’ll be pretty light for me trying to sleep in Alaska in May. Should I bring an eye mask or something? 6. How long does it really take to get off and on the ship when you are in Port? Or does it vary a lot from day today? If our schedule says that we will be in port for seven hours, should we really plan for five or six hours that we can be out exploring? 7. I know this is something no one ever wants to think about encountering on vacation, but what happens if you experience bedbugs in your room? Has this happened to anyone and how was it handled? At this point we are more worried about them than Covid! Thanks everyone!

We are also cruising to Alaska in May! On Serenade from Vancouver : )

Will we still have to test to get on a cruise? We are cruising out of Vancouver to Alaska in May.

Are we still going to have to test to get on a ship?

You might want to check this out, as I think it is the right tour: https://www.stepintoalaska.com/excursions/alaskas-whales-glaciers-rainforest-trails/ We've signed up for the long hike, also led by the same company, I believe. Reading both descriptions, it seems like you see the glacier from forest trails that most people don't go on, but maybe not as close as where most of the crowds are? Just speculation. Personally, I wanted us to have a less harried experience and see the forest as well as the glacier. I assume we will be getting close-ish to some glaciers on the ship as well (which we can enjoy from the balcony my husband insisted on) so getting close to Mendenhall was not as much of a priority. What is your sailing? We are on Serenade May 15-22. Really excited, as it's my first trip to Alaska and first cruise! : )

I switched ours to deck 8 (mid-aft) so we will have a slightly better angle, I think. Mainly I was concerned about the noise from the lounge below us, but I also got $300 off too! : ) Not sure the travel agent was thrilled with this switch : (

I've been thinking of switching our room. We have one of the longer balconies, but I think we won't be able to look down at all because of the lifeboat cover : ( Want to be able to see those whales in Alaska! Wonder if moving up one deck would help?

Hi! We live in Myrtle Beach, and have been to Charleston a couple of times. If you like ships, the aircraft carrier is really cool. Also, the aquarium is nice, and more educational that the one in Myrtle Beach. Also, try Jeni's Splendid Ice cream, the name says it all! Haven't seen much of the historic parts, as the kids were interested in other things. My husband and I will go in a couple weeks alone, and hope to see the museum, market, etc.

I've just noticed the ferry from Haines has a "rail and sail" package that gets you round trip ferry passage and a summit train ticket for $183 (as of 2019), so that saves about $25 vs buy tickets separately. It's only good from Haines, however.

I've been wondering about the same thing! We are booked on Serenade May 15-22, and Haines is my biggest question mark for excursions. I think the train would technically be possible, since we have 8-9 hours on shore. The fast ferry costs $74 or so round trip, and takes 45 minutes each way. Then the train costs $134 for the summit tour and takes about 3 hours. Not sure when the Ferry runs, though I'd assume it starts fairly early and makes several trips a day. The train seems to run almost every hour from 8am to 4pm. The ferry itself could be interesting as they say on the website you travel through a deep fjord with waterfalls, possible wildlife sightings, and a naturalist/guide to narrate it. I've just noticed the ferry from Haines has a "rail and sail" package that gets you round trip ferry passage and a summit train ticket for $183 (as of 2019), so that saves about $25 vs buy tickets separately. It's only good from Haines, however. Alternatives to the ferry/train excursion from Haines are a RC bus trip along the Haines scenic byway into the Yukon, which could be a bargain at $70 for 5 hours (not sure if being on a bus that long would be fun, but I think they make some stops), or visiting a local distillery. Independent excursions are kayaking or rafting on a nearby lake/river/bald eagle preserve (Chilkoot/Chilkat?) and visiting a native village, or taking a 4x4 up the Takshanuk mountain trail (with a halibut dinner). Not sure if I am allowed to post the websites for these, but if you search a bit, you should find them. We're taking the trip for our 15th anniversary, and Haines is the actual anniversary day, so I'd like to plan something memorable. Think I'll check out the "Skagway" threads for reviews on the train, but any thoughts/recommendations on the other options? Actually, Haines looks to be quieter/less touristy compared to other ports, so it might be a nice change of pace. Slightly off topic: I wonder if we could skip whale-watching in Juneau (to have more time at the glacier) and cross our fingers to see whales on the Haines/Skagway ferry?

Why did no one tell me sooner! I've had coke products in many countries (and the global varieties are different), but I'd take any version of Coke over Pepsi anyday! Good thing our cruise is booked for Royal! : )

We booked it! Let's hope for the best : ) I'm sure we'll be to tired in the evening to care after adventuring all day! It's cabin 7658. I'll let y'all know how it is!

Wow, thanks! That's a great resource. It's definitely good for planning.