spedrson

Sailing on Carnival Magic next week. On embarkation day which deck do you enter after you get off the gangplank?  I have a meniscus tear in my right knee and a newly sprained ankle (as in this past Sunday) on the left. I never used to have to think about stairs before so I never paid any attention on past cruises. It's not so bad that I can't walk up and down some stairs to avoid the long lines at the elevator on day 1, but I may check even more of my luggage if they spit you out on deck 2 (our cabin is on deck 7).

I'm enjoying following along! I'll be on the Magic at the end of January. My first time on Carnival. I've been on RC, Princess and Norwegian (one time each). 

We are planning on renting a golf cart to drive around the island on our own. Should we reserve something ahead of time or are there plenty of rental companies right off of the ship? Are they usually cash only or will they take credit card? Appreciate your input!

1 minute ago, Cruisefanatic71 said:

This what we were looking at doing at first and then we thought about spending the day in Seward and then catching the train up to either Girdwood or Anchorage that evening and spending a day in one of these areas and then possibly a round trip to Denali with a night in Denali. Still working logistics of it though. 

Just keep in mind only about 30% of people who visit Denali National Park actually get a clear enough day to see the mountain and know it's about 3 hours on bus from Seward to Anchorage and then another 7.5 hours via train from Anchorage to Denail. We're spending a few nights in Denali to increase our chances of getting a clear day. 

We are planning on spending one night in Seward. We're doing a Kenai Fjords tour and will enjoy the town before heading to Anchorage via bus. Some of us will fly home from Anchorage and the rest of us will spend a few nights in Anchorage before getting the train to Denali for a few nights. 

2 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

Then I would still stay near Hatcher Pass for at least one night.  The drive to Independence Mine is about two hours each way as is the glacier from Anchorage.  Drive to the glacier for your hike, stay the night near Hatcher Pass, visit the Independence Mine and then drive back to Anchorage.

 

How are you getting to Talkeetna?  Train from Denali and then train from Talkeetna to Anchorage?  

 

BTW, we have done a couple of Matanuska glacier hikes as well as visiting the Independence Mine.  Both are fantastic.  I rate the glacier hikes as one of the best experiences we’ve had in Alaska.

We got a very reasonably priced Air B&B in Anchorage that has 3 bedrooms ($200/night), which is part of the reason why we're staying in Anchorage for 4 nights and doing day trips. We wanted a place to spread for a while in the middle of the trip. We'll be in tight quarters during the cruise and when we're in Denali. We also wanted a place to do laundry after being on a cruise for a week.  

We are taking a bus from Denali to Talkeetna and then the train from Talkeetna back to Anchorage on the day we fly home. (We have a 10pm flight.)  It would be less expensive to rent a car the whole time since there are 4 of us traveling but no one wants to drive to Denali and back, so we figured we would spend a little more and take the scenic train and enjoy the ride. 

5 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

Sounds like a great trip.  I do have a couple of suggestions but I’m not sure about how you’re getting around Alaska.  Are you renting a car for your travels?  There’s generally a pretty hefty price tag for one-way rentals but it sounds like that is what you are planning.

 

A Kenai Fjords wildlife cruise is a must in Seward!  If you are heading to Anchorage afterwards via car, I would suggest a stop at Exit Glacier as well as the Alaska Wildlife Center.  With a car, you can make vista stops along the Turnagain Arm.  Another suggestion would be to take the train to Anchorage if you don’t have a car—it’s a very scenic route!

 

I second a previous poster not to make Anchorage a base for four nights.  After your visit to the church in Anchorage (?), I would stay near Hatcher Pass for a couple of nights for your Independence Mine visit and Matanuska Glacier.  Both places are north of Anchorage and are on your way to Denali.  I don’t see much point in driving up and back from Anchorage to the same place.  Staying closer would minimize your driving.  Then after your stay in Talkeetna, drive back to Anchorage stopping along the way at some spots for lunch/hiking (Thunderbird Falls).

 

 

We are renting a car while we're in Anchorage. Taking the bus from Seward to Anchorage. And then we're taking the train from Anchorage to Denali and back.

5 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Several thoughts on your plans in no particular order of importance.  I have done maybe 6 or 7 AK cruises as well as extended land trip so I have some things that I liked and some that I didn't.

 

1) You didn't say where your cruise started or ended in AK.  You have a choice of either Seward or Whittier.  I would pick Seward.  There is a lot to see in Seward and the Kenai.  You could easily spend several days there.  In fact if I had a choice of spending time in Seward and the Kenai or in Anchorage I would pick Seward.  

 

2) Unless you have some very specific things you want to see in Anchorage I do not think that Anchorage is worth 4 days.  

 

3) I assume that you know that the road into Denali is closed at mile 43.  The best parts of Denali are further in.  Unless I knew that I was never going to get to AK ever again I wouldn't even bother to go to Denali.  I certainly would not spend 3 night there right now.

 

4) Talkeeetna. I know that lots of people love Talkeetna.  When we did our extended 3 month driving land tour in AK we drove to Talkeetna off the Parks Highway as it was only a 15 mile detour.  This is purely a personal opinion but it just looked like a tourist trap to me.  We stayed for lunch and then left.

 

5) Based on your post it sounds as if you are allowing 8 days for your land tour.  If this is true allowing 4 night for Anchorage and 3 nights for Denali considering the road closure seems like a bad usage of the days you have in AK.  

 

Hope that this gives you some ideas to think about.

 

DON

Don,

We are starting in Vancouver and ending in Seward. We are spending one night there with a private Kenai Fjords excursion. This trip is primarily for my father-in-law with the idea that this will be his only opportunity to go to Alaska so we are prioritizing his wish list. Denali is very important to him as is hiking on a glacier. One day in Anchorage will be spent going to Matanuska Glacier to hike and then making some stops on the way back. Any recommendations that you have for stops on the way would be appreciated! Anchorage is a home base for us. One day will be spent in Anchorage to go to an Orthodox church and visit a museum or two and the last day we will go to Independence Mine State Park. We are spending 3 days in Denali with the hopes that one of those days will be clear with a good view of the mountain, we will hike another day and on the 3rd day we will do the Tundra Wilderness Tour. We'll spend 1 night in Talkeetna before heading home to take a scenic flight tour with the backup of going the next morning if the weather is bad.   

This is our 2nd time taking an Alaskan cruise and then doing the land portion on our own. The 1st time we stayed in Anchorage and did day trips while we stayed in an Air B&B. In 2024 we have a bit more time to work with. We will stay at an Air B&B in Anchorage for 4 nights and rent a car while we're there and then we will spend 3 nights in Denali and 1 in Talkeetna. We will take the train/bus for that portion and stay in hotels that offer easy shuttles to different activities. We are using alaskatravel.com to book the train, bus, hotels, and excursions. Don't get hung up on their packages. Everything is 100% customizable. Their packages gave me a good place to start thinking about options and then I made our own itinerary. 

We are going on a cruise with family members ranging in age from 17-75. We're not a huge group, only 6 of us altogether. If you've gone on a multi-generational cruise before what kind of ground rules/expectations do you talk about before boarding the cruise ship? I want everyone to have the freedom to do what they want without feeling like we all have to do everything together (especially my "kids" ages 17 & 21). Do you eat all of your meals together or only meet up for one a day? Give me whatever tips you have for a great multi generational trip! 

I was planning on putting 4 people in an inside cabin, but at the last minute I did a quick price check to see what the difference would be to get 2 rooms. Believe it or not I ended up saving $96 by getting 2 rooms instead of putting all 4 adults in one room. It's worth checking. (We're sailing on Radiance in 2024 to Alaska.)

On 2/9/2023 at 2:01 PM, AKStafford said:

Have you looked here: https://visitsitka.org/things-to-do/activities/walking-hiking-tours  ?

Yes. I saw that. The Taste of Sitka SeaWalk tour is close to what we're looking for. I may contact Bob and see if he could tailor a tour to cover what our group is interested in.

We are looking for a tour guide to take us on walking tour around the historical sites in Sitka. Any recommendations? 

5 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

So I was excited to give this Ocean Now feature a try. We found a great shady spot on the pool deck and I fired the app up. Bonus, first drink order under $12 was free!  

Thanks for the tip about the first free drink for free using the app!!! I'm definitely taking advantage of the freebie next week. 

Looking forward to following along. I will be embarking Regal as you're disembarking a week from tomorrow!!

I would like to rent a cabana by the Retreat Pool for my aunt's birthday which happens to be on a sea day. From what I gather I need to do this as soon as we board the ship. Where do they take the cabana reservations? Do I go to the Sanctuary on deck 17? 

We're sailing on the Regal Princess in a few weeks and I was planning on taking a taxi to Chankanaab National Park when we dock at 10am. Our ship is in port until 10pm. How late do the shops stay open around the terminal? Since it's our last port of the trip I know I'll want to do some serious shopping. I'm hoping I can do both Chankanaab and shop at the end of the day. 

We have 2 kids ages 9 & 13 and were in Alaska in July. They LOVED the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center as did we. They also enjoyed panning for gold. I had low expectations of the gold panning, but it was actually really fun, especially when I found a decent size chunk.

Loving your review! We leave tomorrow for Seattle, then 2 days in Vancouver and we board the Sun on Monday morning with the same itinerary. We're hoping to do Grouse Mountain on Sunday. Only 1 more sleep!!!!!!

I received a phone call from NCL as well today. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to talk for very long because I was at work, but she said I could call back tomorrow. Our cruise leaves on Monday out of Vancouver. Luckily, we are leaving before the July 15th cut off so I will have my Diet Dr Pepper with me.

So we sail on July 11, 2016. Looks like we may have "just" missed the cut off since it says for sailings July 15th and beyond? Am I reading that right?

I'm curious... when do you sail and how did they let you know about the port change? We leave in 3 weeks on the Sun, northbound from Vancouver, and wondering what the odds are that we'll get switched from Skagway to Sitka as well.

We have 27 more sleeps until we board the Sun in Vancouver! Looking forward to hearing about your trip.

I'm loving your review! We'll be on the Sun in 39 days!!!

My kids will be thrilled with the popcorn shrimp option and I look forward to trying the shrimp burger! Sounds interesting.