I just finished my first cruisetour in Alaska and we are headed for the ship.  You might ask what is a cruisetour?   It is basically a land and sea package where you get to go a bit more in depth somewhere that a cruise ship couldn't go added onto your cruise.  You can choose to do your tour portion either before or after your cruise but for Alaska I recommend doing it before.  The tour portion in Alaska is busy and has lots of early mornings so doing the cruise after allows you to relax and recover.  Most times you will have a few different package options for your Alaska cruisetour to include other things but all will include your cruise and land accommodations along with transportation to your cruisetour hotels.   The big difference between the cruise and the tour is that your land portion doesn't come with food included like the cruise so you would need to choose an add on package if you want meals included on land.   Here are 7 tips I learned from my Alaska cruisetour.

#1 Pack strategically.   This really is key since you need to pack a little bit of everything for a visit to Alaska.  It really is worth it to not have suitcases that are packed too tightly from the beginning since you will be having unpack and pack a few times.   We ended up with 3 checked suitcases for the 2 of us (2 large and one smaller one) even though I probably could have gotten it all into just 2.  I was very happy I chose to bring 3 as it made things easier for me.     Princess does offer an option to send any bag you won't need on land right to the port so it will meet you on the ship instead of having to go to each lodge with you.  That just didn't work for me but that was OK since having the 3 bags did help when we were juggling things from lodge to lodge.   You most likely will only spend 1 or 2 nights at each lodge so it means a lot of living out of suitcases.       
 
#2 Pre-plan your outfits for each day.    This comes  in handy when you have to have your bags out of your room at the crack of dawn.   I recommend using some packing cubes or something that will help you keep your suitcases organized and easy to pull out a day's set of clothes the night before.  In Alaska dressing in layers is key so make sure each day's clothes have you ready for any type weather no matter what the forecast might be predicting.  

#3 Have a day bag plan.   On the days you change lodges you might be on a long bus or train ride between lodges.   You might also be doing a tour or excursion on the way between lodges so you will want to have a day bag with you with a few essentials.   It is also good to keep anything with you that you really couldn't afford to lose or would need before getting to your next room, such as prescriptions or your travel documents.   Be sure to read over your travel documents beforehand as there might be restrictions on the day bag you can carry on with you, for example the train between Denali and Anchorage has pretty strict rule of no wheelie bags can be carried on the train with you.  There are specific size limits for the bag you can take on the train as it needs to fit in a tight space by your seat.   

#4 Be Organized.  Having packing cubes or some type of smaller bags or specific spots in your suitcase for things makes it easier to find things quickly.  This also helps to be sure everything gets packed again each time you change lodges.  The early morning bag pick ups can be hectic so being organized really helps.

#5 Read and reread the schedule for each day in advance.   There will be lots of important times to remember each day so you don't want to miss the bag pick up or worse your bus.   The morning we went into Denali park was a very early bus pick up and they stick to schedule so it would be a bummer to miss that bus.   

#6 There are no guarantees.   In Alaska this applies to a few things.   Remember this is wilderness so there are some things no one can control.   Number one is there are no guarantees that you will get to see a clear view of Mt Denali.   It is said that usually only 30% of visitors get a clear view of the whole mountain just because it is so high that is pretty much has it own weather and will usually be hidden behind clouds. We realized how lucky we were to get a clear view more than one day of our trip.  The second thing that people complain about is not getting to see all of the wildlife they wanted to see.  Again nature doesn't always cooperate so you just might not get that shot of a grizzly or moose or whatever animal you were hoping to see during your Alaska visit.   You should already be prepared for just about any weather as that is just a given with Alaska but weather can also affect other things like your mode of transportation.  This is a little more unusual but happened during our trip that weather caused the train tracks to be impassable in spots due to rock slides and trees down so our scenic train ride from one lodge to the next was cancelled and we had to take the bus.   I was really looking forward to the train experience and I know for most people that is a big part of what they want as part of their   Alaska land portion.   Hopefully you will get to see and do everything you really wanted to on your visit but if you don't there is always next time.  

#7 Get enough sleep and drink plenty of water.   There is a lot to do on your tour so getting a good amount of sleep and staying hydrated is important to being able to really enjoy everything.   Alaska is 4 hours behind our East Coast time zone and along with the longer hours of daylight this far north it was easy to stay up way later than you intended and that 6 am bags out time sneaks up on you real quick.  It is also very dry in parts of Alaska so be sure to drink enough water.

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When you think of summer vacations do you picture sitting on a beach or by a pool somewhere?  I know those of you that live somewhere that gets cold in winter look forward to summer vacation and think about laying in the sun but then summer comes and some of you might be complaining it is too hot.  Sure you could cool off a little with a dip in the ocean or pool but why not go somewhere really cool like Alaska or Norway?  Would I go to these places in winter - NO WAY!   However summer is a great time to head North to escape the heat and enjoy a literally cool vacation.   Another bonus is the longer hours of daylight make you feel like you get so much more vacation time.   There is just something really memorable about looking outside at midnight and the sun is still out.

There are 4 cool places to cruise that are only available in summer.

#1 Alaska
   If you had asked me about 5 years ago what I thought about traveling anywhere that is considered a colder climate I would have said no way.   That was before I actually sucked it up and went to Alaska for the first time.  I admit I was worried that I was going to be too cold to enjoy it.   I did prepare by buying a cold weather wardrobe but was happily surprised to find that Alaska really wasn't that cold in summer.  I actually found it a nice break from the Florida heat.  After that I started thinking where else can we cruise in summer that will offer a refreshing break from summer sizzle.
Alaska really is huge with so many breathtaking things to see and explore.  Most cruise lines offer the typical 7 night round trip cruise out of either Seattle or Vancouver.   Some cruise lines have been in Alaska longer and they offer some stops that the others cannot.   Princess and Holland America have both been in Alaska for 50 years so they really are the experts and offer the best options.   If you are just doing a 7 night cruise your really want to be sure it includes one of the big glaciers - Glacier Bay really is the BIG one but the other is Hubbard Glacier.  Doing just a cruise only lets you see the very edge of Alaska.  If you really want to get more in depth into Alaska you would want to book a cruise along with a cruisetour.   The cruisetour portion will be either before or after your cruise and you can choose the number of nights.   Holland America and Princess have their own lodges but the other cruise lines will offer some type of cruisetour.   I am actually headed up to Alaska next week to do a cruise tour before my cruise so stay tuned for my trip report and  hopefully some live updates.  

#2 Norwegian Fjords
   After cruising Alaska and realizing that cooler locations make a nice summer break we started looking at other options.  The Norwegian Fjords always looked so picture perfect with all the waterfalls and cute villages.    It did not disappoint!  I loved every stop and even though weather conditions caused the ship to cancel our 2 stops above the Arctic circle it was still very cool to be able to say I have been above the Arctic Circle.   We went in May and even though that isn't Peak season we had wonderful weather with even a bit of a heat wave where it was in the 80s.  For those of us on the East Coast we are kind of in the middle of either Alaska or Norway so it would a tough call as to which to pick as they are similar but also different.  If you really want wildlife I think Alaska offers more options but Norway seemed to have more waterfalls. 

#3 British Isles  
  You might think the British Isles are too small to warrant their own cruises but trust me they are not!   The typical British Isles cruise is 10 - 14 days.   You might think that means you are only visiting British ports but you will usually have some that are not as well.    Some cruises might even include Iceland.   Our British Isles cruise mostly focused on Ireland but we also had a few UK stops and we started and ended in Amsterdam.    Generally smaller ships do these cruises which is what I love since that means you never really feel overcrowded even when visiting some of the big cities.  Our cruise stopped at the big ones like Dublin, Cork, Belfast, and Liverpool but we also had some smaller stops too.   I really enjoyed the smaller ports where you could walk to the local pub from the ship and really feel like you were part of this small town even if only for the day.  The North Atlantic can be a little rough on the West Coast of Ireland though and on our cruise it was so rough we had to turn around and go back around the other way.   I guess they don't call it the Wild Atlantic Way for nothing. 

#4 The Baltics
  A Baltic cruise is also sometimes called Northern Europe and will typically include Scandinavia and Russia.   You might stop in places like Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, and St Petersburg.   If you have always wanted to visit Russia a Baltic cruise is one of the easiest ways to do it.   The Visa requirements for Russia can be tricky but booking a cruise shore excursion will usually take care of all of that for you.   You really get to see a wide range of cultures and histories on these cruises since you are visiting so many countries.   A Baltic cruise can be pretty port intensive for that reason so that is important to take into consideration.  

 Cruise lines only sail these locations April - October.  Peak season for these really is June  and July.   Earlier or Later in the season can offer less crowds and lower prices but might also not have the best weather.  School vacations also mean more kids during those peak dates.
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Bermuda and Canada/New England are also places that have a limited summer window for cruising but may not offer the same cooling effect as the others.   Generally  Bermuda cruises are April - November with with June - August being peak season.   For Canada/New England cruises will run May - October with August - October being the time to leaf peep.  
If you are sweating right now and thinking how can I cool off why not start thinking about planning a cool cruise for next summer (there might still be some last minute deals for cool cruises this summer too - just contact me to find out).

you    I am writing this while sitting in the Philadelphia airport and an announcement just came on saying the airport is under a ground stop.   That is never a good thing and since it is weather related there isn't much you can do it about it.   You might think you have more of a chance of weather delay during winter when snow and ice are an issue but summer weather can be just as disruptive.
  I think it is pretty safe to say that everyone has encountered a flight delay at one time or another.  It could be weather related, mechanical issues, crew delays, or something you might never have thought of before.   Nobody likes to be delayed but being prepared can be make a big difference.   There are a few apps that can come in handy when  flying.

#1 - Airline's app.  I always make sure I have the app for the airline I am flying on that day.   The airline app comes in handy for things like checking in for your flight and watching the status of your flight.  One time we were already sitting in the plane out on the tarmac and were delayed.  We had a connecting flight that day so after an initial delay boarding the plane and then sitting out on the tarmac another hour we realized there was no way we were going to make that connection.  I was able to use the airline's app to make changes to our connecting flight and find another option to move us to.  We almost didn't make that connection but luckily we did.   Unfortunately our luggage did not but we were also able to sort of track our bags using the airline app as well.   

#2 Flight Aware - While the airline's app is good, flight aware offers a bit more information.   Flight aware offers real time tracking for all airlines and you can check the status of airports too so you get more information.  They even have something called the misery map (you can take a guess at what that will show you).  You can see where your plane is coming from and get notifications when it takes off from there and when it lands at your airport.  You can also check on the status of the airports you are headed to which can be good to know as well.  If your flight is connecting and that airport you are going to connect through is also having delays you might not have to worry as much about missing your connection.   

#3 Air Help - I haven't actually tried this one out yet but after reading about it I think it is good to have just in case you need it.   Have you ever wondered if you might be entitled to some type of compensation due to the flight delay?   You don't need to wonder anymore this app will tell you. They say they can even check on flights from up to 3 years ago so who knows you might have money to collect.

#4 Grab - If you get hungry or thirsty while waiting on your flight but have no idea what food options are in the airport this app can help.  This came in handy when I wanted Starbucks in the Philly airport and wasn't sure where I could find one.   

If you read my previous blog about what I pack in my carry on you know that I do have everything I need in my carry on in case of delays.   The lady sitting behind me today wasn't so prepared and I just heard her say her phone is almost dead and she didn't pack her charging cord in her carry on so now she has to go find one to buy.  Another tip is try to find a comfy spot to hang out but don't go too far from your gate because I have learned in the past that even though your flight says an hour delayed now it could actually go back to being on time again without much notice.   The airlines really do want to stay on time as much as possible so sometimes they will make some changes in order to avoid delays.  So if they are able to do something that keeps you pretty close to on time they will want to get that plane boarded and off the ground as soon as possible.  

Travel delays can be a bummer since they might also affect some of your vacation plans that you have already set up for your arrival.  That is when having a travel agent can really come in handy.  I can jump into action for you to start rearranging things as needed.    Worst case you might also need help finding a last minute hotel room if your flight delay turns into needing somewhere to sleep for the night unexpectedly.  
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Lucky for us I see flight aware is now showing that our plane has arrived so we should be on our way shortly, only about 45 minutes late.