In two days I will be flying to Alaska to take a cruise from Ketchikan to Juneau on a small adventure class ship operated by UnCruise adventures. Below is a link to the actual cruise highlights. The price may be shocking, but hotels in Alaska are crazy expensive (as I am sure the food will be) and all the food, activities and beverages (including adult beverages) are included in the price. The only thing extra is the gratuities. Sometimes it is a better value to have everything included than to have a big surprise bill waiting for you on the last day.
Adults on the cruise are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, as well as a molecular COVID test within 4 days of boarding the ship, but vaccinated adults (all adults) will not be required to wear a mask based on the current CDC guidelines (which are remarkably reasonable compared to the past few months).
I did complete the Alaska Safe Travels form, but they do not require a pre-test or to be vaccinated to visit Alaska. Depending on when you view this, the link below may become non-existent (at least I hope it will). It is currently only recommended to complete the form, not mandatory like the Hawaii form. And honestly it isn’t set up as well as the Hawaii form.
Normally I prefer American Airlines, but Delta had the best flight connections and price. This was a bit of a last minute opportunity, so I only purchased the flights on May 27th. However despite flying into and out of such small airports (Ketchikan and Juneau) the price was fairly reasonable ($516.59).
The flight leaves early in the morning from Austin, so I plan to drive up the evening before after my COVID test to try to get some sleep before getting on the plane. There are already concerns that the summer travel wave hit the TSA unexpectedly and there will be a lengthy queue.
As a side note the area of Alaska I will be visiting is considered a “rain forest”. One of the recommendations of UnCruise Adventures is to bring mid-calf high rain boots. I bought myself a pair at Academy which seemed to be comfortable enough. The challenge will be packing all my camera gear (and laptop) with all the extra base layers and the boots into one single suitcase, one carryon bag and one personal item. Luckily there are no “formal nights” on this cruise – they actually state that the clothing onboard is casual – t-shirts and shorts are acceptable.