I have seen better deals. Check Princess.

Enjoyed reading this cruise report - thanks for taking the time to write it and post it.

I assume "we" includes DH, did he bring a suit for formal nights? Thanks.

Thank you everyone for all your comments. We are just now researching our excursions for end of August round trip cruise of Alaska out of Vancouver. These postings are most helpful.

Wow! I am honored and humbled that this trip report I posted from almost 2 years ago still continue to get read and new comments posted.

Shanghainese, suit for formal night? A suit jacket would do. The same jacket, same shirt and same tie for both formal nights. The same pair of black walking shoes that also double as dress shoes. The jacket goes on before dinner, and came off immediately after dinner. If you choose not to have dinner in any of the dining rooms, then a suit is totally unnecessary.

The dress pant (matches the jacket but not a suit) was also worn frequently, with a golf shirt for dinner on other days and many other occasions. Just make sure the dress pant is comfortable.

HillBaillys, if you have questions about excursions, feel free to ask. You can spent lots of $$ on excursions in Alaska or very little, it all depends on your like and dislike. List the activities that you enjoy while travelling and I am sure someone will recommend something here. Good luck on your trip planning! Planning for a trip is half the fun.

Thank you for all the great info! We have an upcoming trip in August (2015) -- first time to Alaska. We were going to book excursions from the cruise line, but after reading the posts from this topic, I think we'll try booking it on shore instead and save some money.

Does Skagway have tour booths on shore? I read and re-read the posts but didn't see anything mentioned.

Also, what's the weather like in August? Lots of rain?

Thanks!

Hello Eschew - like others, the timing of this is perfect for me, too. We're taking a 10 day RT out of SF in August. We are celebrating 2 60 bday boys. One of the bday boys would like to fish in Ketchikan. I know the ship offer trips, but at a hefty price. Many variables. Do you recall if you saw any fishing excursions on the dock, that didn't seem like hiway robbery? I'm thinking of contacting the visitor center to do some research. Thanks in advance!

Eschew, Amazing TR!! Thank you!
You mentioned on board lectures you heard about how to take best shots with even point and shoot camera, so I thought I will ask.
Questions:
I normally use Casio Exilim camera (f=6.3-18.9mm 1:2.8-5.3 and 12.1 megapixels), and wonder whether that would be sufficient for Alaska cruise pictures.
Also, what kind of binoculars should I buy or, can one rent them on the ship just for the period of the voyage?

Hi Eschew

We've just returned home from an Alaskan cruise. I printed off your trip report and used it as a guide to the cruise and tours. Just wanted to thank you for a great and very helpful trip report.

Just got back from DC. Spend the memorial day long weekend there and more. Sorry about the late reply.

Batn2, you can't miss the tour booths at Skagway. There are lots of them and they are all "approved" by the Alaskan Tourism (but not by the cruise line)

Weather in August is lovely, but always expect rain and cloudy days. Just remember that you have 2/3 chance of encountering some sort of light drizzle. Always dress in layers as it could be cool and then very hot. We have seen temperature swing from 60 to 90.

Faloola, you should book the fishing charter early, and not wait till the last minute. They are not cheap either. The ship's price is probably 20% higher than what you can do on your own.

http://www.visit-ketchikan.com/Thing...-Charters.aspx

Pravasi, I am not familiar with your camera so I shouldn't comment. I have used a cheapo ($169) Canon point and shoot and it was fine for what I needed but I have also used DSLR with interchangeable lens. I guess the question is what is your expectation? To shoot still scenery, cheapo point and shoot is fine. Shooting wildlife action shots will take some skill and a better camera. Most point & shoot have "cheats" such as macro, night, sports, portraits setting etc. So the sports setting maybe good enough for some wildlife shot. But if you want to shoot a picture of an eagle scooping salmon off the river, you will have a better chance with a better camera than a point and shoot.

Some ships (depending on cabin class as well) have binoculars in the cabins. Consider a sports wide angle zoom 7-21x40. I bought a cheapo 10x25 from Costco and it works well enough, just not as good and convenient as my zoom. They also sell binoculars on the ships.

marg, appreciate your kind words. I hope you had a great time and did not get lost once! Did it work well enough? What activities did you ended up doing? Would love to see a TR if you have the time or a quick comment here.

Hello, we are going on our first cruise ever from Vancouver to Whittier, Northbound Glaciers on Pacific Princess on June 29 to July 7. Flying back from Anchorage to LAX.
Any ideas on transportation from Vancouver Airport to cruise terminal and from Whittier to Anchorage Airport? I see the cruise line has an excursion trip at the end of our cruise in Whittier that would take us to the airport. Would that be a good option for the 2 of us to book?
Is this a casual cruise or do we need to bring dressy clothing?
Any advice and suggestions would have us. We picked a small ship because we do not like big crowds. Do we need to take cases of bottled water, since that what we drink a lot.
Thank you for your consideration.

Better late than never, thanks very much, Eschew, for the formal nights dress code suggestions.

Marua, Vancouver airport to cruise terminal is easy. Take the Sky Train and it will take you very close to the cruise terminal, definitely walking distance unless you have lots of luggage. The cost would be $7.75 per person. (1 zone ticket at $2.75 plus the $5 YVR airport fee. You can buy your ticket at the automatic dispenser.)

You can look for the sign to the Sky Train at the airport or just ask at the airport info booth, it is very easy to find. Take the train to the last stop (Waterfront Station) and you are 2 or 3 blocks away. You won't miss it. You should make sure the Pacific Princess is leaving form the Canada Place downtown terminal as they also have a second terminal else where. Check with Princess to be sure.

I will recommend taking the cruise line's transfer for going from Whittier to the airport. You have the train or bus option, with the train option a better choice and will sold out faster. They will also transfer your luggage to the airport direct.

They will take you a downtown hotel where you can register and leave your luggage (carry on) or just sit in their waiting room and relax. As they run a bus from the hotel/convention center to the airport on a schedule, you can actually spend some time in Anchorage walking around if you are on a later flight which is what we did when we took a north bound cruise. We spent about 6 hours in Anchorage, walk to the water front, check out local shops and restaurants etc. There are also parks and hiking trails around the downtown area.

Well done, Esch

HI Eschew Haven't corresponded for a long time!! Since my husband passed away I haven't done any cruising but hope to in the not too distant future. My brother and wife want me to join them on one of their cruises - they do a couple a year so I may do that (my own cabin of course!) Hope all is well with you.

Hi Traveller69, it's great to hear from you. I guess I am doing okay as I am still kicking around. LOL. Are you still in Victoria? I am glad that you are going to join your brother for a cruise. Some ships offers single cabins so there is no single complement to pay.

I have not heard much from Percy for the last little while, let's hope he'll get back to the normal swing of things.

I must be getting "old" as those that I have interacted most through the years like ParrotMom, Percy and you, are posting less and less here ... and of course, Dogster (Nigel) is in a different place now.

Stay in touch and stay well!

How is the internet access and reliability on Pacific Princess Northbound from Vancouver?

I was on the Pacific Princess a few years back and the internet access is fine, by cruise ship standard.

Internet on a cruise ship is via satellite so it is nothing like your land base or even mobile phone based internet. For comparison, I would say it is almost, but not quite, as fast as 2G/3G, and definitely not as fast as LTE.

Also be aware that the bandwidth is shared meaning more people using it means slower connection.

I used Internet to connect to my office once a day, check email etc and I usually do it before I go to bed meaning around midnight or later. Usually, there is hardly any one on the internet on the ship so I have no speed issues. The few time that I try to connect during "peak" time, you might as well forget about using it.

If it wasn't for the "office", I wouldn't even border with internet while on board. At each port, watch where the crew goes and that's where you will find free wifi, be it at the dock side, or a cafe or whatever.

Be careful with your mobile phone as well as you will be in Canadian water and your phone is roaming. Some unlimited phone package only covers the lower 49 so Alaska is not covered.

Depending on your carrier, they offer packages that you can use your phone while at sea at a reasonable cost if you must stay in touch. Call your service provider and ask.

My usual habit is phone in "airplane" mode as soon as ship leaves the dock (but leaving wifi on) and I only turn my phone back on after the ship docked, and only if I have purchased a travel or roaming package.

The question I would like to ask is how necessary is the phone and internet access?

Hi Eschew

Maybe everyone is on austerity!!! Percy is quite active on the Lounge board - he has made a lot of new friends there and even comments on "controversial" topics. He did say he was in Europe on one of his posts. I don't really post much there - am more of a lurker!! I am still in Victoria but of course the winters in Arizona have come to an end. I sold our little place down there. My faithful companion Daisy the Doxie and I did a 6000 mile return trip to South Texas last winter. My daughter and husband live in Corpus Christi so I rented a nice condo on North Padre Island. I also do my annual visit to Calgary to visit my brother and sister in law. It is always fun as they love entertaining their friends with lots of good food and copious amounts of wine!

Loved your descriptive cruise report! I'm going on July 5th. I found a couple online websites for excursions, I'm mainly looking into the small boat that takes you to the tracy arm glaciers, and the dog mushing in Skagway or Juneau. But I can't decide which dog mushing to attend..it's only 20 dollars cheaper than the princess ship, but I can't reserve on the ship anyway, since it's fully booked. Do you recommend me using Alaska shore excursions website or just wait til I get off into the port? It's $136 through shore excursions vs. 150-160 through princess.

Do you have any menu pictures? I get a free fine dining day and I don't want it to conflict with a good free regular dinner.

TIA for your help!