deddans

Hi Deddans, we are from Adelaide and looking at doing a cruise land tour next year either June or July, planning a northbound tour, so you got to see bears and salmon which is what I want to do, land tour wise was that Rocky Mountains?

No - I organised the land tour myself mainly on the Kenai peninsula ( with extensive research through Trip Advisor and other trip reports on Cruise Critic) . From what I understand July would be better for bears e.g. Anan Creek I think was only open for permits from 1 July. It all depends on when they release the salmon which obviously attracts the bears. In Silver Salmon Creek Lodge they were mainly clamming on the beach.

The bears were an absolute highlight of the trip so when you decide what to do, book early.

Hi, thanks for the review. Love seeing the pics. Can you confirm that the Pullman bed is directly over the main bed in the room? If you don't mind saying, what category room were you? Thx

If you look at the bottom of the post labelled Icy Strait Point - there is a picture of the pullman - yes it is directly above the bed but enough room to lie in bed and read without feeling squashed. We were in room 7072 - category E1.

Hope that helps

Think I met you! You stayed Wed 1st July at Silver Salmon creek? We arrived the next day! Fantastic review!!! Silver Salmon Creek was the best, so want to go back!!!!

Yes - i think we did meet at the plane! I would have loved to have stayed longer - the bears are just so beautiful. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

We filled our water bottles with the tap water and drank it all week - no problems

Woody's for Thai - it is where the guides go - often out of some dishes and sometimes closed ( !) but it was good food

I have posted the link to my blog here

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2233259

On land we hired a car and visited Girdwood, Palmer, Silver Salmon Creek Lodge in Lake Clark National Park and Seward. The cruise was with Radiance of the Seas travelling from Seward visiting Hubbard Glacier (cruising), Juneau, Skagway, Icy Straight Point (Hoonah) and Ketchikan before sailing to Vancouver

Fantastic review and pictures! You did a lot of what we will be doing: Anan with Island Wings, Fishes, Independence Mine, Capilano Suspension Bridge. We are staying in Palmer as well but not at the same B&B. We will have to try Turkey Red for dinner. Since you ate at both Ray's and Chinooks in Seward, which did you prefer? We will only have dinner there one night before heading to Cooper Landing.

Yes - book with Turkey Red when you get there otherwise we saw people waiting a long time

I don't remember much difference between Rays and Chinooks - they were both good so look at their menu as see which you prefer - they are 2 doors down from each other. Both very busy ( but it was coming up to 4th July) so again if you can book do so.

You will have a great time

Tremendous review, very similar to land tour we plan on doing. Two quick questions for you:

 

1) Appeared you rented a car, where did you leave it while flown away from Soldotna?

2) Did the Silver Salmon Creek Lodge have choices for meals? Wife and I just tend to be picky eaters ... =( We're like kids almost

3) The "upstream salmon spot" you referred to near Seward, does it have a name?

 

Thanks SO MUCH again, looked beautiful and lifelong memories.

 

Ben

1 - We left the car ( and the other family their RV) at the airport overnight.

2 - No choice for meals but they can cater for food intolerances if notified early. Breakfast was French toast, sausage, scrambled eggs and porridge ; Lunch we had smoked salmon fillets and sweet potato hash with banana bread; Dinner was macadamia crusted halibut with veggies; it was all very delicious and those that had been there for longer said the food varied but I would guess it was mainly seafood ( locally sourced)

3 - Bear creek - about 6 miles outside Seward turn right and continue to a small bridge over the creek ( maybe one mile or less - can't remember exactly). There is no sign as such but a small building after the bridge I think that says Fisheries or something on it. There has been so little rain in Alaska that this was the best place that we actually saw salmon jumping - the salmon ladder in Ketchikan was very low.

Have a wonderful time

Thanks, I used a Canon 700D ( aka T5i) with a 70 - 200 f4 lens and 24 -105 f4. I also had a 10-18mm lens but hardly used it.

My husband has also just posted the video here

We - Husband, 12 yo son and myself – have just returned from 2 weeks Land / Cruise holiday in Alaska. On land we hired a car and visited Girdwood, Palmer, Silver Salmon Creek Lodge in Lake Clark National Park and Seward. The cruise was with Radiance of the Seas travelling from Seward visiting Hubbard Glacier (cruising), Juneau, Skagway, Icy Straight Point (Hoonah) and Ketchikan before sailing to Vancouver. Please visit my blog

http://deddans.blogspot.com.au

for lots of photos.

Happy to answer any questions.

Cheers

Great review. We are heading off tomorrow for our DIY land and then cruise on Radiance with our 12yo son, so great to hear the tips for families.

We have The Milepost - is it worth getting Murray's guide as well?

We have flown overseas ( Japan, Europe, USA - from Sydney , Australia) many times with our son from when he was less then 3 ( he is now 12). Always with QANTAS. We have found the extras you have to pay with budget airlines outweigh the savings. He has always found plenty to entertain himself with their complimentary entertainment system. They feed you well so no need to take extra food ( and my son is your typical grazer).

Just a couple of things we took into consideration when choosing balcony. There is so much daylight that there is always a view to look at whatever time of day so while the bathroom is being hogged by other members of the family when getting ready you can enjoy the Alaska scenery going by without feeling like you are missing out; and if anyone gets sick, then time in the room can still be used for sightseeing.

Not sure, but I understand that while you do not need an international drivers licence to hire a car it would be needed if there is an accident involving the police in the USA. I'm happy to be corrected

Thank you… I was going through Trip Report withdrawal and was resigning myself to not seeing another one until next year ( when we go- can't wait). So, thank you for taking your time! Great photos by the way.

I booked through the Avis website back in July 2014 for July 2015

I have reserved a trip to Anan Creek with Michelle for next year. From initial enquiry to final booking did take about 25 days with anywhere from 2 - 10 days between responses.

Cheers

No problem at all.

 

The previous restriction was on Canadians, not Australians, but the law was changed a while back so now Canadians also can drive rental cars from Skagway into Canada.

 

There were some posts about it here on Cruise Critic previously when the law was changed.

 

Have a wonderful cruise and enjoy your drive up to Emerald Lake.

Thanks, we will :-)

I have a question....have any Canadians ever done this. I see on Murray's site that we can not rent a car and drive into Canada from the USA we do have one American in the group can we get around this this way??

We are Australian and hiring a car in Skagway ( Avis) for the day in 2015. We are hoping to make it to Emerald Lake and back, crossing the border. Does anyone know if this will be a problem? - the Murrays site does not seem to mention it anymore.

Thanks

Our ship is in port from 7 am until 8.30pm. I would really like to do both Emerald Lake and the Glacier Point excursion. We would hire a car to see Emerald Lake - do you think it's possible to do both and do them justice!?

Thanks

Kath

( going on our first ever cruise in 2015)

I have just finished reading both trip reports - wow. We are going to Alaska for the first time and our first cruise in 2015. You have inspired me to take a photography course and update our DSLR so that I can take full advantage of the scenery. We are also looking at spending a night at Silver Salmon Creek so please let us all know how that goes. In fact let us know about all your travels - the photos plus commentary strike the perfect mix.

I'll second the recommendation about Tasmania - definitely on my wish list but then so is a lot of Australia - and I live here :)