Loved alaska!

[julie45]

Hi all! Just returned home on the 24th from our cruise out of Seattle to Alaska. I've been raving on and on about the trip since returning home to anyone that will listen to me and trying to figure out how I can get back next year!!! while I know the Alaska season is winding down now, I still wanted to share with everyone how much I loved the trip. Just as a quick background, this was my second ever cruise, first time with Princess and first time to Alaska, it was just myself and my husband, both of us are 28. We went round trip out of Seattle which I know is not the most favored route but in an effort to save money and flying time since I am terrified of flying, we chose Seattle as our departure and return site. I have to say i was a bit hesitant about choosing to depart from the normal Carribbean and warm weathered destinations, but I wanted to do something different and I must say i am SOOOOO glad i did and would actually PREFER to go back to Alaska than to the Carribbean. I know not everyone falls in love with Alaska but we did! The history and stories and just the way of life out there is so different and interesting, its like this whole other country, its awesome! we did the normal stops, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Victoria. In Ketchikan we did a coastal expedition tour and had a blast! We were the only 2 people on the tour so we got a much more personalized tour on our own boat we could drive ourlseves, it was great fun. we saw eagles, porposises, and starfish everywhere! we stopped at some remote site in the woods for salmon and crackers and coffee to warm up while we talked with our guides about life in Alaska, then we were off again to search for more wildlife (the tour may not normally go the route we did but since it was just the two of us, we told our guide what we were interested in seeing and thats exactly what we did!) we had so much fun. as a side note, the weather was not perfect, we were bundled up with gloves on and rain drizzled at times, but it didnt bother us in the least since we were dressed for the weather conditions. after that we quickly ran through the town, stopped for lunch at the Fish House and then went off to our zip lining excursion, that was fun, but scary at times too! the clouds cleared up half way through the day and the sun came out and it was a great day! the next morning we sailed through tracy arm, it was very cold and we were freezing our butts off, especially when we got close to the glacier! we had on several layers, gloves and hoods and hats but were still cold, but once the glacier was in view, we seemed to completly forget how cold we were! until of course we left later that afternoon we arrived in Juneau, we took off on a hike just outside of the town which was easy to get to although I cant quite remember where we hiked to, although I do know there was a gold mining museum nearby, i think a gold mining museum. The weather was decent, no sun but no rain either, in the 60s. then after that we went whale watching as part of a Princess excursion where we got dinner on our boat, it was an evening whale watch. there must have been only 40 people tops on our excursion, there was plenty of room to move around and to different areas for great views, no complaints. i have to say we were FREEZING during this excursion, i had a few layers on and gloves as well but was still cold! Our next day we were in Skagway where we arrived to drizzly rain on and off, which continued throughout the whole day, it was heavy rain at times and also light rain at times, but definitly a rainy day. but again, not a problem, we had rain jackets and rain pants and it didnt bother us or affect anything we did. we rode 4x4 kowasaki mules up and down the mountain and also stopped for a very good halibut fish lunch, it was excellent and the excursion was so much fun, even in the rain! my only complaint about that excursion is that i just wish it had been longer, for the amount of travel time to get to and from our excursion site, it just didnt seem long enough, but i guess thats what we had great tour guides and bus drivers for, to keep us entertained! the next day was just a sea day and it was ROUGH! took 2 drammamines that day and felt like I was completly drunk the whole day, it was awful. Just from overhearing other people talking it seemed like a lot of people were sick that day and stayed in their rooms in bed. not a good day. we tried to make the best of it though and venture out in the evening for the nightly activities. Our last port was Victoria, which i have to say i was rather bored here. we did not book any excursion, i know the gardens are popular but it really didnt interest us, nor did tea at the empress hotel or anything of that nature. so we decided to just walk around the town which got old fast. for anyone going to Victoria, they DO offer whale watching there, but when we tried to find an open vendor, they had all sent out thier last tours before we got there, which was at 6. we went to three different operators and all had no more tours after 6, so if you get there before this time and want to go whale watching, i suggest getting to the pier/waterside quickly to get your tour booked. (our ship did not offer whale watching as an excursion here) So all in all we had a great time and loved Alaska!! Anyone thinking about going, just go! You'll love it! and we did not have that great beautiful weather everyone else has been having all summer either, it was probably in the low 60s/upper 50s everyday with little breaks of sun now and then during the week and definitly had rain. but, that doesnt mean you wont have a good time, just be prepared and pack accordingly and you'll be alright. Just wanted to share my thoughts, i hope everyone else has a great time in Alaska! Now just trying to figure out how i can get back next summer.....

[hansonsk20]

We leave tomorrow for Seattle so I was interested in your post. We aren't sure how many sweaters/sweatshirts to bring given their current weather. This was helpful. If you had advice on what to bring for winter-type clothes please let me know.

[julie45]

I only brought one sweatshirt, one fleece and one Columbia zip up hoodie type of jacket and these along with a regular shirt and rain jacket suited us just fine for all our stops, in fact we got warm with all these layers when we were just walking around in the towns. but it was all definitly needed during our whale watching, our boating excursion and our Tracy Arm day. to be honest i would have LOVED a winter coat when we sailed through Tracy arm, but that and the whale watching would have been the only time i would have wanted it, so i would not suggest bringing one, just make sure you have several layers on. I would suggest gloves and a hat though, and maybe even a scare if you have the extra room for it. We did have to make lots of trips in and out of the ships to warm up at times. i dont think we had enough layers on

[mmemichele]

They sell GREAT jackets in Alaska In Ketchican and just about everywhere 19$
.I bought 2 1 in Ketchican .1 in Skagway ...yes I know travel light ..but I also bought
bags you suck the air out of to pack them .Cabin steward lent me his vacuum Worked fine 1 flat bag. I will take these everywhere with me from now on- avoided paying extra bag fees because jackets are bulky not heavy .It ia amazing how much you can put in those bags

Now why can't they invent something as easy and painless as this for our waistline ...zap zap extra roll gone !!!! LOL

You will need gloves.a WARm hat/ a tuque scarf .Wear socks apparently we lose our heat from extremities so cover head/ socks on feet in closed shoes /ought to do it
Spray your shoes/running shoes to make them waterproof ..I followed that advice from someone here and it was VERY useful
The jackets they sell are waterproof and yes it does rain in Alaska ....a lot ...but who cares
I found fleece type jogging suits the most comfortable esp with hoodies
When on a boat DO cover your ears ...it will avoid problems later ...wind and ears ..not a good mix
Do not miss a whale excursion in Juneau ...WOW WOW WOW I love them "critters "
I hope you have as good a time as we did .I LOVED Alaska ..DO NOT MISS THE YUKON and Emerald Lake ..OUT OF THIS WORLD
Have a FABULOUS trip ...do tell us about it ..Read my review of Spirit ...I really liked the ship and itinerary

Bon Voyage
Michele

[postalperson]

Thanks for the info, Julie. Now I have to remember to put gloves on my list of what to bring! I'm leaving on the 5th of Sept on the Golden Princess and I can't wait.

Crystal

[alpal1993]

Glad you enjoyed Alaska >We will be returning for our second cruise.Did a 12 night land tour the first time on Celebrity.
We are going on a 14 night cruise RT Seattle on HAL(will be our first time)Everyone who hears about this Itinerary says it is the best.
We too have tired of the Caribbean as we live less then 10 minutes from Port Everglades.Seen that done that many times.
Hope you continue to cruise and experience new places and people.

[Lois R]

Glad you had such a good time...although I wish you had put your
review in a couple of paragraphs...These old eyes had a hard time
reading it.......

I leave for my 3rd trip to Alaska next Sunday

[flamomo]

Julie, what ship were you on? I didn't see that mentioned in your post.
We're sailing on the Star Princess in 13 days.

[julie45]

sorry everyone for the lack of paragraphs, i got a little carried away!


Flamomo, we were also on the Star Princess. I thought it was a nice ship, very good entertainment and good food in the dining room, really had no complaints about the ship. They also showed great movies in the rooms for those sea days that are too cold to venture outside or if you just need to relax. We had an inside room and I felt that was perfectly fine for us, even having an inside room I never at any time wished I had a balcany or even a window, we just went outside when we wanted to see the scenery or sat by a window watching things go by. It was a nice ship, granted i've only been on one other cruise but I thought it was nice, it suited our expectations and our tastes. We also had anytime dining and NEVER had to wait.

[themerle]

We've cruised to Alaska 3 times, twice in late June/early July and once in May. On all three crusies we have had good weather except for twice in Juneau (and then it didn't last the whole day). The next time I go I would like to go in late August so I was really interested in your review. I enjoyed reading it so thanks for sharing. I would love to make Alaska crusing a yearly event!!!!!!!!