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First Timer on a Budget


Fab50th

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Hi There, we're considering an Alaska cruise this summer as we recently moved to the Seattle area. It would be myself, my husband and our 1-year old. I'm a newbie to Alaska, so I thought you'd be able to help! :) What are some of the must-do's? Tips to maximize the budget? Any low-cost excursions?

 

Thanks in advance!

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I'd suggest buying or borrowing from your library, an Alaska cruise book (Frommers or Ann Vipond). The books discuss the cruiselines, ships, itineraries, ports, excursions, sights, etc. And borrow a few Alaska travel books as well. The more you know about a destination the easier it is to plan.

You might want to consider a Vancouver departure instead of Seattle. They sail on the inside of Vancouver island instead of the open ocean so it's more scenic and less chance of rough seas.

Look over some of the trip reviews. there are a few if you look over the first few pages of this forum. Read the MEMBER REVIEWS of Alaska cruises and PORTS.

Each town has a web site and they use it to promote tourism. Google the town's name with 'visitor information' to find the site. There are often free visitor guides to send for, plus local information on things to do and see, including DIY. http://skagway.com/

When you decide on an itinerary, people will be happy to provide low cost or free DIY options for you.

Have fun planning!

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Lots of fun stuff to do in Alaska. Flightseeing to Misty Fjords, hiking, whale watching, Mendenhall Glacier, etc. Granted some excursions can be expensive. Other such as going to Mendenhall Glacier on your own can be pretty cheap taking the blue shuttle bus in Juneau. One thing about looking at excursions is determining which ones can accommodate your 1 year old. Flying in a helicopter to hike, likely not. Riding the White Pass RR in Skagway, probably. Mt. Roberts Tram in Juneau might work as well. Just make sure to check. If the cruise line's excursion say no one under X years old, try looking for something similar that is not through the cruise line. One must to IMHO is take a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay. An absolutely stunning place to see.

 

Tim

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Here is a website that has lots of info on the AK ports

 

http://cruiseportinsider.com/index.html

 

I agree that Glacier Bay is a must see - the cruise lines that vist there are limited to Princess, HAL, and NCL.

 

As for a 1yr old you will have to talk to the tour vendors. But I would not try glacier hikes or heli flights.

 

BTW Low Cost is very subjective - and to be quite honest there are no real low cost excursions in AK - most are at least 100.00 pp and don't be afraid of using an independent (non cruise line) tour company - you will usually get a better tour for a cheaper price and they will have you back to the ship on time.

 

There are usually some Do on your own activities in every port so depending on the time allowed you could find one tour for each port and then DIY from there. Also book an inside or oceanview stateroom and spend you time on deck - be sure to bundle up the little one.

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Thank you everyone for the great suggestions! I'm working on my research! :)

 

I'm not opposed to sailing from Vancouver, just need to add parking fees to the list of expenditures. Are there any major differences in port fees/taxes between Seattle and Vancouver?

 

Any recommendations for a great TA?

 

Thanks so much!!! :)

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Board rules prohibit recommending TAs.

 

If you cruise in late May, you'll find cruise prices lower than the peak summer months.

 

I know HAL fequently offers discounts/free fares for the 3rd & 4th passenger in a cabin. All of the lines have similar demographics in Alaska.

 

I second the recommendation for a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay - it was the highlight of our cruise.

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We took this trip from Georgia last summer. The air fares were our biggest budget issue. The cruise prices are pretty reasonable if you are patient. There are a lot of cruise ships running up there so it gets pretty competitive. We went in late June and the prices were lower than we were seeing from July or August. We were on board for the summer solstice and I have a great picture we blew up of the view from the aft of ship at midnight with sun light still in the sky.

 

Excursions in Alaska are expensive. Going on private tours is pretty costly too. I think you just need to check out the options and "pick your poison". In Ketchikan there was a pretty reasonable excursion to see the Tlinglit totem polls which we enjoyed. You can also go to Mendenhall glacier in Juneau pretty reasonably on a tour.

 

The cruise part of Alaska was fantastic. We saw an incredible number of whales from the ship and the scenery is incredible. It helped having a naturalist on board who always kept us clued in when to watch for whales. We also went to Glacier Bay which is incredible.

 

After the cruise, we went up to Denali, and I highly recommend doing that. We saw an incredible amount of wildlife and have fabulous pictures to remember this experience by. This was the best part of a fantastic trip. We will definitely be going back one of these days.

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I think the suggestion to be patient and wait to see if you can get a bargain is an excellent suggestion. Last summer (late June) I got an e-mail from Princess for the R/T Seattle cruise in late July for $899.00 pp balcony gyt. Had not planned to go to Alaska last year, but could not pass up this bargain. We eneded up with a BB aft balcony. The trip was to Tracy Arms instead of Glacier Bay. We had not been to Tracy Arms so it was good for us. We had been to Glacier Bay several times in the past. I am thinking that since you live in Seattle, this may not be your only cruise to Alaska. Are you thinking of the R/T Seattle to save on air fare? I am not sure the White Pass RR in Skagway or the Whale Watching Excursion would be good for a one year old. They may be a little long and tiring. What ever you choose, even if it is just going into the towns sight seeing and becoming familiar with with you may want to do on a later trip when "the little one" is a little older, Alaska is amazing.

Cabin wise, an inside will be cheaper. However, to really enjoy Glacier Bay, you need to be out on the open deck. That being said, DH has some health issues, and the last two times to Glacier bay, we enjoyed from our balcony.

Our favorite time to go to Alaska is middle to late May and the fares are much cheaper at that time.

Ways we save money on the ship:

(1) We no longer purchase the photographs

(2) Skip the Spa and the Speciality Restaurants

(3) We drink the coffe and tea and bypass the coffee and soda cards

(4) Purchase very little from the on board shops

(5) Do no play Bingo or go to the casino

Kinda sounds like we are "cheap", not really, just frugal and make choices. We do like some of the nicer excursions, but that is what life is really about...making choices.

Have a wonderful cruise....I am sure it may not be your last one to Alaska.

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Low cost excursion in Alaska?? Hum, Alaska tends to have some of the higher cost excusions.

 

So maybe only do a couple and in the other ports do mostly walking tours.

 

Also sign up on your roll call to get in on a private tour, you will see more and sometimes for less money.

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Not knowing your interests, I can only make non-specific suggestions.

 

I can only tell you about Juneau as I grew up there and still visit a few times a year.

 

If I were going to do Juneau on a budget and wanted to see a few things, I'd recommend renting a car. It will give you the most freedom and will b much cheaper than hiring a taxi tour (which is another option that runs about $70 an hour)

 

The top of my list would be the Mendenhall Glacier. Few other places in the world will offer you such easy access to a nice sized glacier. There is a visitors center there which I believe costs $3 a person. There are plenty of nice areas for photo ops. If you like short hikes, the hike to the Nugget Falls only runs 45 min round trip (less if you are in shape, walk fast, and don't take long at the falls). The Steep Creek trail is where I go to look for bears, especially when the salmon are running (usually the 2nd part of July to early August)

 

The fish hatchery (DIPAC pronounced like the words "die" and "pack") is a neat place to visit when the salmon are running. I've spent probably thousands of hours fishing there, but I am a bit ashamed to say I've never went on the tour there. However, I hear the tour is intersting and only runs $5 or $8 a person (sorry, don't recall exactly but it is fairly cheap). Even without the tour, it is neat to watch the fish in the ladder via the viewing window and to watch the people snagging fish (the closest thing to combat fishing Juneau has). If looking to catch a few salmon on a budget, this is the place to go IMHO.

 

Given you have a small child, there is a beautiful play area near DIPAC at Twin Lakes. A 1 year old might be a bit young to fully enjoy the massive playgorund, but if it is a nice day, it is a very cool playground to visit.

 

I personally like the Shrine of St. Therese a bit out the road. It is a simple chapel basically in the middle of nowhere, but it is a place of beauty and tranquilty. There are beautiful views all around. If you are really lucky, you might spot a humpback whale here. If the salmon are running, you are very likely to see salmon jumping.

 

The Auke Rec Recreation area is a good place to look for sea shells as you have a little one with you. She might be too young, but it is just an idea. If you opt for this, I would recommend bringing a stiff nylon or brass bristed brush to scrape and clean the shells before taking them home, otherwise they might smell a bit (a regular wire bush will work too, but I've ruined the finish on a few shells by scrubbing too hard with a steel bristed brush)

 

Eagle Beach offers some simple hiking. I like the area, but personally I think you will see better scenery by staying in the car and driving a few miles more and stopping at the pull-outs.

 

The brewery is a possibility. I don't recall it being much of a tour, but I was there years ago and they kept offering me free beer, so my mind is a bit foggy

 

The tram can be a cool excursion that you can book right on the dock. I do not recall ticket prices, but I think it is in the neighborhood of $30/person. There are some tourish shops on the mountain, a theatre, and an OK restaurant. If you like hiking, there are some nice hiking trails that leave from the platform (if you go hiking, either hike first and eat second or be prepared to throw away any leftovers as bears can frequent the area and you probably don't want to be walking with food). I bought a trail map a few years ago and I think it ran $1 at the bookstore up there. I've made a few attempt at walking to the summit of the mountain, but for various reasons, I never made it so I can not give you a timeframe of hiking to the summit and back.

 

If nothing else, you can just drive to the end of the road on both ends of Juneau and then drive to the end of the road on both sides of Douglas. There's beautiful scenery everywhere.

 

I hope this helps.

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Excellent - I have copied and pasted for our trip in June.

 

We will be in Juneau on June 21st. Do you think that the salmon will running at that time?

 

For sockeyes running up at the Mendenhall Glacier, 6/21 will be too early for them to be running up Pack Creek.

 

At DIPAC, the Chum salmon will probably be starting to show up about that time, though it might be just a tick early. I got into town around 6/23/12 last summer and around that time, the Chum Salmon were at DIPAC thick enough to break out the snagging gear, though the numbers seemed to be far from the peak of the run. My guess is that you'll see them jumping around out in the bay. However, I am not exactly sure when they will "open" the fish ladder.

 

I would also guess that you might see the salmon jumping around near the Shrine as well, though watching salmon is no where as cool as watching the mass of salmon at the hatchery during the peak of the run.

 

Hope this helps.

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We tried to watch our budget, also when we visited Alaska. Many of the excursions are expensive. We selected the ones we feelt really gave us a bang for our buck--even if they were expensive. [whale watching was a highlight]

 

I did a "Live" posting on my NB cruise to AK. We used the public bus in Ketchikan. [$1 pp each way] to visit the totem poles at the two waterfront parks. this is the link. Ketchikan starts at posting # 40. Including our lunch on Creek Street we spent less than $25.[before I hit the end of the year sales :p] We could have gone back to the ship to eat lunch since the bus dropped us off near there.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1697232&page=2

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check what you can bring in beverages on cruise line. on Holland America and carnival i brought 2 bottles of wine and a couple 12 packs of soda. don't forget corkscrew. if you bring it to the dining room they will charge you a corkage fee. just pour a glass and take it in with you. saves a lot of money. also bottled water. i will also confess to bring more wine but in those little single serve bottles. they didn't pick up on them in the luggage. they only look for the larger bottles

i haven't cruised Alaska but get into a roll call for your cruise on cruise critic if you haven't. you will find someone who has been to alaska and can tell you the best excursions on a budget. i have gone on cruises with less than 200$ in my pocket and paid gratuities and had a blast. have a wonderful time

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compared to our Caribbean cruise last year I found the excursions in Alaska to be shockingly expensive...it is what it is I guess. The Cruiseport insider website was definitely very helpful in finding out things we could do ourselves to cut costs.

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Thank you everyone for the great suggestions! I'm working on my research! :)

 

I'm not opposed to sailing from Vancouver, just need to add parking fees to the list of expenditures. Are there any major differences in port fees/taxes between Seattle and Vancouver?

 

Any recommendations for a great TA?

 

Thanks so much!!! :)

 

 

Another post I read mentioned taking a train from Seattle to Vancouver - you might check out that possibility along with a cab or other transportation from your house to the train station. I believe the person posting stated that it's a short walk from train station to cruise port.

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Thank you everyone for the great suggestions! I'm working on my research! :)

 

I'm not opposed to sailing from Vancouver, just need to add parking fees to the list of expenditures. Are there any major differences in port fees/taxes between Seattle and Vancouver?

 

Any recommendations for a great TA?

 

Thanks so much!!! :)

 

As another poster has said, check out Amtrak to/from Seattle. We are flying into Seattle and taking Amtrak to Vancouver (we sail back into Seattle though).

 

I just booked 2 one way tickets on Amtrak for $29 each. Even though you will have to go both directions (unless you find something like we did that leaves from Vancouver but returns to Seattle), I would think it would be much, much cheaper than gasoline and parking for a week (I am "assuming" your 1 year old would not need a ticket, but I don't know). I don't know how long it takes to drive to Vancouver, but the train is 4 hours. And I understand border crossing can be very long if you are driving a car as opposed to being on a bus or the train.

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Here is a website that has lots of info on the AK ports

 

http://cruiseportinsider.com/index.html

 

I agree that Glacier Bay is a must see - the cruise lines that vist there are limited to Princess, HAL, and NCL.

 

As an FYI, Carnival also offers Glacier Bay cruises at the start and end of their season. We also live in Seattle and have done this in the past. It's shoulder season so the rates are generally pretty good (and if you're from the NW a little rain won't get you down :)

 

For those mentioning Amtrak it's a pleasant trip on the coast and I'd also recommend it. The light rail station is right near Amtrak in Vancouver and has a stop near the port so it is pretty easy to get to the port on the cheap.

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Low-cost in Juneau, take the Big Blue Bus (if it is still around - anybody??) for about $14 per person round trip to Mendenhall. You can stay as long as you want, walk all the way to the waterfall, and even look for bear on the hiking path.

 

Low-cost in Skagway. Rent a car from Sourdough Rental for the price of one person's ticket on the White Pass rail and get Murray's guide for $5 (google it), and then drive up to Emerald Lake.

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