Alaska newbie questions.

[debinnh]

Hi. My husband and I just decided to celebrate our 20th by going on a cruise to Alaska. We would like to do a land tour too, but I don't see how this can be done on many cruises since they start and end in Seattle or Vancouver? Are the one way cruises better than the round trip ones?

How do I pick?! When to go? Where to go? Best itinerary? Best ship for Alaska? If you have been and could choose your ideal AK trip, what would it be?

I'm planning on posting this on other boards too, so I get a variety of cruiselines/ cruisers responses.

Thanks in advance!

[Krazy Kruizers]

You will have to select a cruise that either ends in Seward or begins in Seward in order to do a land tour. I would suggest doing the land tour first and then the cruise. Gives you a chance to rest up after spending many hours on buses and trains - very crueling.

HAL has 3 ships that fir into that category - Ryndam, Veendam, and Statendam. All the others do round trip either out of Seattle or Vancouver.

[dakrewser]

Book a one way cruise in either direction. Seattle or Vancouver on the southern end, but definitely Seward on the northern end. Then rent a car and really "see" Alaska. WE did the northbound cruise, then 3 days driving to near Denali and back to Anchorage. Wish we had taken a week or more to drive to Fairbanks or further. Also consider an overnight (or two night) flight from Anchorage/Fairbanks to Kotsube above the Arctic Circle.

While the train/coach tours are nice, we much prefer to stop where we want to, and deviate from the route as things catch our eye. We did put the journal from that trip online, here (http://vquill.com/gallery/Diary.html). AS my wife wrote: "This was a not-to-be-missed experience. We encourage everyone to go get one."

[Mary Ellen]

Therer are some land tours for 2005 that are in conjunction with Vancouver cruises that have one sailing to Skagway and touring from there. This way one doesn't have to do a full week cruise - IF one doesn't wish to.

[debinnh]

Dave:

Great review. Now I;m REALLY psyched to go.

[dakrewser]

Dave:

Great review. Now I;m REALLY psyched to go.
I see you were on the Norwegian Sky in spring '01, just before we got on to do a R/T to Alaska from Seattle. We were the first ship in for the season. Alaskans can be VERY talkative when they haven't seen anyone new for 6 months!

We're also going back there next year, but on a R/T from San Francisco (no airports needed!). Have a great time!

-dave

[Himself]

I don't think you can get to Seward out of Seattle. HAL has three ships,
the Statendam, The Rydam and the Veendam and each of these ships leave Vancouver every other week and go to Seward. You can get your land tour at Seward. Another way would be to take the Volendam or Zaandam to Skagway and then there is a train that goes up North on a land tour. One can also fly to Ankorage and get the land tour and then either train down to Skagway or to Seward and catch a ship to Vancouver B.C.

Hope this helps

Himself

[debinnh]

Dave, I tried to convince my family to stay on board and go to Alaska after that repo cruise, unfortunately they were sold out of the cheap cabins!

I lived in Sunnyvale for a 6 year stint. My husband worked at Lockheed and I worked at ALZA in Palo Alto. My son was born there and we moved to NH 6 months later. He turns 18 next week. Love it there, but couldn't afford to raise a family there.

[dakrewser]

I lived in Sunnyvale for a 6 year stint. My husband worked at Lockheed and I worked at ALZA in Palo Alto. My son was born there and we moved to NH 6 months later. He turns 18 next week. Love it there, but couldn't afford to raise a family there.
We didn't move out here until the kids had "left the nest". Is Benson's Wild Animal Farm still going strong in Nashua? One of my favorite destinations as a kid in the 50s and 60s (I was raised near Providence)....

Are you still in pharmaceuticals? (My wife is at Genentech)

-dave

[Budget Queen]

There is some wrong information here. For clairfication- for you to do an interior tour you can only sail to/from Vancouver- NOT Seattle. You can end up in either Whittier or Seward. You CAN NOT take a train tour from Skagway- the White Pass Railroad is only 20+ miles from that town, ALL tours from Skagway involve a LOT of boring bus travel and it is one I never recommend- missing either 3 or 4 cruising days is significant in that you are missing a port or glacier. You need to add at least 7 days with a land tour via the cruiselines. Any shorter has too much time in transit and you get the reports as above being hectic- which they are. I am no fan of cruisetours and they are extremely costly for what you get. Alaska is also significantly lacking in point to point group travel. You miss everything in between and are tied to a fixed schedule. Be very very informed on WHAT you are purchasing- a lot of people aren't. Specifically- Denali Park- you want at least the Tundra Wilderness tour- but understand even this tour just gets you a little more than half way into the park. Meals are extra- budget 50% more than at home for a cushion.
If inclined- consider independent travel- extremely simple with a rental car and staying in nice lodging- B&B's are my clear preference. You can clearly see twice as much for half the cost. Head to your library and take out Frommer's Alaska and Fodor's Alaska- good concise books. If considering going on your own THE MILEPOST. The more you know the better your choices will be for you.

[dakrewser]

Head to your library and take out Frommer's Alaska and Fodor's Alaska- good concise books. If considering going on your own THE MILEPOST. The more you know the better your choices will be for you.
We always get guidebooks (Fodor's, Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, etc. We especially like the Inide Guides from the Discovery Channel) for every place we visit. The MILEPOST is, by far, the best we've ever used. I wish there were something similar for every place we go.!