RSSC cruise to Alaska August 2026
 

Good morning,
We are taking our first 'cruise' in August with Regent to Alaska. We took a very small (max 32 passengers) cruise in the Galapagos (amazing and wonderful). This will be our first time on a big ship. A few generic questions:

Do most people try to do 2 excursions each day or just one longer excursion. I'm seeing that given the timeframes in each port, squeezing in two might be difficult
Do most people book through Regent or walk off the boat and book locally?
I understand we can waitlist for excursions that are fully booked but then read that if the waitlist clears, you are automatically charged and it may be too late to cancel another option that will also be charged. Is that correct?
Are the 'free' airport and hotel transfers worth it or just a gimic? We are coming in a day before the pre-trip land excursion starts and were told that all of the transfers would be voided as we were not arriving on the actual day the cruise starts. Same with the 'free' pre-cruise hotel night. They did give us a $300 credit but the hotel is $850/night. Seems odd that we are spending more with them and having perks removed??

Thank you advance!

Spouse and I have sail on RSS more than 10 times. I’ll try to answer your questions.

First, I think you are a bit confused. For the most part, all regular excursions are included in the price you pay. The only exceptions are in some ports of call the cruise lines offers a limited number of “higher end” excursions such as helicopter tours, private guided tours in limousines, etc. for which they charge an extra fee. Normally there’s anywhere from 10 to 15 or so different “free” excursions in each Port of Call and you can go on as many as you like. Unless you are a very high maintenance type of traveler there is no need to book the “extra price” tour options. You’ll have plenty of free tours to choose from in every port of call.

Depending on the length of time you are in port there could be morning and afternoon tours. the tours vary in length and have different departure times. Many times the morning tours do not get back to the ship until the afternoon tours have already left so it is not always possible to on 2 different tours on the same day. When timing permits some people take advantage of doing 2 tours a day but generally speaking the majority of the guests take only one tour per day then use the rest of their free time to engage in other activities.

You can, if you wish, walk off the ship and book local tours on your own at your own expense.

The “free” airport transfers are not a gimmick. A representative meets you at the airport and escorts you to a bus that will transport you to your hotel or ship as the case may be. At the end of the cruise they do the opposite. Obviously, if you arrive in your departure city a day or two prior to RSS pre-cruise tour/hotel date you will not have access to the free transfers.

Hope this helps.

Yes, I understand that there are both free and chargeable tours (I wouldn't say that anyone is high maintenance for choosing a chargeable tour however). My question was whether or not cruisers try to do 2 tours each day and it sounds like that is not always possible due to time in port and overlay between end of morning tours and beginning of afternoon tours.

I also understand that the 'free' transfers are a nice perk. Again, my question was around conforming to the recommended 'fly in a day before the cruise starts to avoid travel delays and possibly missing the cruise start) and finding out that if you do arrive a day early, the transfers are withdrawn. We are doing a land tour prior to the cruise start and were told that yes, we do recommend that you come in a day early but if you do, there are no transfers since they only apply to the start date of the cruise....the land package voids them essentially. If they are going to recommend coming in a day early, the transfers should be available then. It just seems that they are telling you one thing and then doing something else.