kawagama

When in those waters you are in "the whale's house" so seeing them is a very strong possibility. However, you need to be constantly on the watch, looking for spouting and also shapes. We went in May and saw all kinds of whales from the ship, but we were outside on the decks a lot of the time and were constantly looking at the sea for these beautiful creatures. We also kayaked out of Ketchikan and had a humpback come up very near to our kayaks, not once but twice! It was very cool.

I can't really offer you much advice about a do it yourself Alaska trip, but I have done a do it yourself Yukon trip (right next door to Alaska, but in Canada), and also a 7-day round trip Alaska cruise from Vancouver. My vote is for the do it yourself land trip. While we did enjoy the 3 ports and also Glacier Bay on our cruise, I felt that we only really grazed what this beautiful region has to offer. Yet, when we travelled through the Yukon with a truck and an 18-foot RV for 10 days, we really SAW a lot more. We were able to stop where we wanted, for as long as we wanted, without worrying about missing a ship. We could linger or hurry at will. While being on a cruise ship is very convenient (unpack once and let them take you places and feed you), we only got off the ship 3 times and were limited by time according to the ship itinerary. There were many sea days and the weather (early May) was too cool to sit outside. Not being big drinkers or gamblers, we found the sea days kind of boring, to be honest. And, some of the best scenery (inside strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland of BC) was cruised through at night when we were sleeping! So disappointing.

Don't get me wrong--the coast is beautiful and the ports are lovely (albeit touristy). But, if you really want a sense of the north, nothing can beat a do it yourself trip.

You might also consider a trip to the Borghese Gallery if you enjoy art. You need to book your date and time here as you are only allowed 2 hours at the gallery. They also only let in 200 people at a time. This is good because you can then actually see the art, unlike at the Vatican. We enjoyed the Borghese much more than the Vatican because of the lack of crowds.

Having said that, if you can afford to book a private tour of the Vatican that includes museums, sistine chapel, and gardens, do it. The general tours (which we did) are so crowded that it's all you can do to keep up with your guide. We felt that we spent more time trying to find his raised umbrella than actually seeing anything. It was not a great experience.

It also sounds to me as though you would be happier doing a DIY land tour. We did a two week road trip through the Yukon a few years ago and loved it! Rent yourselves one of those campers that will accommodate your family and go where you want to go. Then you won't be wondering about the activities for kids on sea days, but can create your own along the way. And, depending on how you organize your trip, take in the Yukon if you can.

Yes, we're on a cruise tour and will be in Dawson City. Thanks for the info.

If you have the chance, stop in for a meal at Klondike Kate's. Arguably the best food in town!

If you have energy and no serious mobility issues, you can wander around old town Kotor on your own and then climb the 1500 stairs up to the fortress for some beautiful views. It costs 3 euros (paid to the man at the bottom of the stairs) to go up. Along the way you would probably find several individuals selling bottled water. The way up is a slog, but well worth it. View is gorgeous and the beer afterwards, at one of the cute little cafes in old town, is delicious! We are in our mid 60s and my husband had bypass surgery 5 years ago and we were able to make it up, so it's not that hard.

We did a 7-day out of Venice in mid October 2017. Daytime Venice was pleasantly warm, but the evenings were cool, so long pants and a light jacket were useful. As we made our way down towards Athens, the weather was sunny and warm. People on the ship were tanning and swimming, we swam in the sea at Argostoli, and basically wore summer clothing the entire time. A light sweater in the evening on deck was plenty. Athens was hot! I don't think you need super warm clothing, but a lightweight jacket and a light sweater would probably be fine. Running shoes for walking and several t-shirts for daytime touring should do you. I have always washed out undies and light shirts in the sink. They dry fine. I would avoid bringing jeans and opt for lightweight, quick dry pants instead.

I'll be the voice on the other side of the coin here. It really bothers me to hear that bigger and more ships would sail up into the north, much like the increasingly popular trips to the Antarctic. We humans have a way of taking something beautiful and turning it into something not so beautiful just so that we can say we went there and took our pictures. The environmental impact, however, stays for a long time and is rarely positive. Our trip to Alaska was in 2016 and we were on a small ship (2000 people). Luckily, we were the first ship up in May, so we didn't have the hordes descending on these lovely small towns. I can't imagine what 20,000 people would do to Skagway or Ketchikan or Juneau. To build the ports required to accommodate even more and bigger ships would have a huge impact on the small towns along the coast that would change the ecological footprint for sure. Tourism is welcome, of course, and a large part of the economy, but shouldn't go beyond what is ecologically sound.

And as anyone who has been on a cruise knows, you scratch the surface of the country, or area, with day trips. If you really want to see an area, a land tour will serve you better. We were fortunate enough to spend two weeks in the Yukon in 2013 with a borrowed truck and camper. What was most beautiful about this northern land was its emptiness--and yes, there were tourists around. It's just so big that the tourists were mere dots. I suspect most of Alaska is the same. Obviously, not everyone can do lengthy land tours, and there is the beauty of the coast to consider, but bringer more and bigger will surely damage that beauty that everyone wants to see.

So, my two cents worth--leave it alone, and if anything, restrict the trips to the smallest ships only.

We stayed at Hotel Farnese near Campo di Fiori. It was easy to walk everywhere from there. The rooms were fine and they had a really nice breakfast included. They also have a rooftop patio that was quiet and lovely whenever we went up there. The building use to be a convent once upon a time and has been converted to a hotel. It was a two minute walk to Trastavere as well, which was our go to place for dinner every evening. We booked directly through the hotel--I understand you can get better prices that way. I would try booking now. Even though it's early you might get a better deal than waiting til later. If you plan to walk around Rome (and you should!) it's nice to have a centrally located hotel to which you can return easily throughout the day when you need to change your shoes, your outfit, or just to relax before the next outing. Staying near the Vatican would be too far from all other things worth seeing in Rome.

I feel for you, as I believe it is far easier to dress down for warm weather than it is to dress up for cold when that is not what you are accustomed to. If I were you, I would try to find an outdoorsy type store in your area. I'm Canadian, so I don't know what they are in the US. These stores are very good at providing light-weight, quick drying, but warm clothing. It sounds to me as though you will be lugging some very heavy, bulky clothing with you, and that is really not necessary. If you have a waterproof, windproof jacket with a hood and a fleece, you won't need another coat. A hat that covers your ears and gloves are fine--they don't need to be polar. We went in early May (first sailing) and the only time it was really cold was when we were in Glacier Bay and on deck. If you have a balcony room, you can just stay in that while your ship does the 360 in the Bay if you find it too breezy on deck. Alaska is certainly colder than Florida, but it's not the frozen north--not in September-and not on the coast.

Waterproof pants with long underwear would certainly be enough, but I wouldn't wear long undies under jeans. Jeans are thick enough as it is, and also dry very slowly if they get wet. We hiked a portion of the Chilkoot Trail when we were there and didn't need hiking boots. Sturdy runners were fine for that and any other hikes we took. If you plan to be walking around on top of a glacier you might want something sturdier, but otherwise runners will do you fine.

Don't go overboard with the warm stuff or you'll regret packing all of it. Keep your layers thin and if you plan to be outside off the boat for a long period of time, bring along a small backpack into which you can place layers when they aren't needed. And, a metal water bottle won't freeze because it won't be that cold yet.

Also, you should check what is supplied by any tours you might take. We did a sea kayaking tour in ketchikan and waterproof layers were provided by the company if we didn't have our own. Perhaps whale watching companies do that too.

Good luck and have fun!

Kotor is beautiful. The sail in to the port is stunning and the town is very quaint. If you have the mobility and energy, the climb to the top of the fortress (1500 stone steps) is worth it for the view. The old town is fun to explore too, and the beer (when you come down from the fortress!) is delicious.

We stopped in Argostoli too and while it was pretty enough, we didn't find it to be very exciting. I think some of the places outside of this town are what make it a draw. We found the strip along the waterfront to be very touristy with shops that contained all the same stuff. There was a lovely cafe, however, which had delicious coffee and pastry.

Wandering around on your own is easy enough and the ships stop close enough to walk from them to the old town. The market just outside the old town is fun too. One thing we found, however, was that this town was very expensive. We ended up going back to the ship to catch lunch before the buffet closed. They are known for their silk ties and scarves, but if you think you want to purchase one of these, be prepared to pay a lot. I randomly pulled out a scarf to look at it more closely and it was $400. Yowza. And it's true, they don't take euros and our ship (Rhapsody of the Seas) did not do the exchange for Croatian money. We were told not to change too much either because nobody else would take them back if you didn't spend it all. Our stop here was an itinerary change as well. I'm not sure I would choose to return to this port. It was okay, but not great.

We used http://privategreecetours.com/ when we were in Athens. There were 4 of us and we had a very comfortable air conditioned car with a driver who took us all around Athens for 6 hours. The cost (I think) was 300 Euros, or 150 per couple. The driver met us at the port dock and was even aware that we had docked 3 hours earlier than originally planned! Because we did not have ship wifi, I was not able to check my email and learn that he was waiting for us. Nevertheless, he was still there waiting when we got off the ship! He took us to all the main sites and gave us plenty of time to view them. While driving he answered our questions and told us about the history of the buildings we were seeing. It was well worth the money and we were very pleased with this service. They were very flexible and altered the proposed itinerary to suit what we wanted. I strongly recommend this company.

If you can, book an excursion for Argostoli as some of the more scenic aspects of the island are away from the actual port and town. We simply wandered around, and while tidy and neat, the town itself didn't offer an awful lot to see. On the upside, where we docked was an easy walk to the main part of the town.

We preferred the food in Rome over Venice when we went. We did use our guide books in Rome and were quite satisfied with the options they gave. Trastavere is a wonderful area to find lots of delightful restaurants and trattorias. Again, if the place is full of locals, you know it will be good. I strongly recommend checking out the website called RomeWise. I found it invaluable with tips and hints on places to eat, to see, and how things work in that city. I can't really recommend anything in Venice, as our meals there were simply okay. We didn't really go by the guide books there. Anything with fish would probably be a good choice, however.

You could also check out the Abruzzo region, which is 90 minutes due east from Rome. The region is part of the Appenine Mountains and dotted with beautiful villages, wineries, parks, medieaval villages, and has towns on the Adriatic. We stayed at and toured the region in 2016 for a week and it was wonderful. Stayed and toured with http://www.amazingabruzzotours.com Check out their website! It is fantastic. I don't know if they still have space during the time you will be there, but the pictures will give you an idea of the region and some of the possibilities. It is not a high traffic tourist area, yet, and does not have the crowds of some of the other areas in Italy.

We were there in October 2017. The ship itself offered some excursions, but we opted to just do our own thing. The town is small and the main strip near the port seems to be devoted to mostly tourist shops. It is possible to take a taxi to a nearby beach for a swim, which is what we did. Our itinerary was changed and we ended up in this port on a different date. Many of the shops in town (except for the tourist ones) were closed and the town seemed quite "dead" the day we were there. I heard, later, that if they are not expecting a cruiseship on a regular schedule, things close, so perhaps that is what happened when we were there. We did enjoy a lovely coffee and pastry in a little cafe near the port. Things were also very walkable from the ship which was good.

This ended up being our ONLY Greek Island port (the other 2 were cancelled because of poor weather in Venice and late departure), so given that, we were very disappointed and quite baffled why this port, with so little to do, was chosen over Mykonos or Corfu (which were on our original itinerary). It is a pretty little town, however, so hopefully your ship might have something interesting in the way of excursions to offer you.

You shouldn't need hikers because it doesn't sound like you will be hiking. However, as some have indicated, hikers are great waterproof shoes if your weather is rainy.

We kayaked when we were in Alaska. Generally, kayak tour companies put their passengers in tandem kayaks (meaning two people in one). These are very stable and very hard to tip. Once you put on your windproof/waterproof jacket and your spray skirt, you will be snug as a bug--so no need for dry suits at all. Rafting is different because there is more likelihood that you might end up in the water. Not so with kayaks. They won't be the sit-upon kind; rather you will be inside a hatch with a spray skirt covering it. Have fun! We had a blast on our tour.

We took the Alilaguna from Murano to the airport. It was a fun way to get there for sure! But, not a very quick one, so if you take this water bus make sure you are aware that it will take time. They had a place near the front of the bus boat/bus to place luggage. We each only had one piece, so I don't know whether you need to pay extra for your second pieces. But I agree with another poster--reduce your luggage by half. It's so cumbersome to travel laden down with all that luggage, and in the end you discover you didn't really need half of it!

I can't really give you advice for tour guides as we didn't use any in Rome. However, a website that I found was invaluable when I was planning/researching our 6 days in Rome was RomeWise.com It is written by a North American (American I believe) ex-pat living in Rome and gives all kinds of advice and links for sites, hotels, restaurants, and tours. Perhaps it can give you what you are looking for. I learned a lot from that website. I hope it helps!

Did you enjoy your paddle with Southeast Kayaks? That's on my list.

We kayaked with them in 2016 and I strongly recommend them. Sounds like you plan to hike a fair bit in other ports, so why not do something different and go kayaking? We went in early May and ended up being the only two people on our tour. It was great! Even saw a whale tail very close to the kayak! What a pleasant surprise! It started to rain on our trip, but we went anyways and were well equipped with rain gear--not only our own. I don't think you would be disappointed with this outfit.

We wandered around Skagway just to see the town, but after lunch had a short hike up part of The Chilkoot Trail. The guides were super knowledgeable about the local flora and pointed out all the different things one can eat in the forest! The hike itself wasn't long or particularly difficult, but it was nice to get out and move around. When the hike part was finished, we had a float down the Taiya River in a rubber raft. It was really fun and we saw some gorgeous scenery as well as many eagles along the way. At the end there was a snack of some sort before we were driven back to Skagway and dropped off. We really enjoyed the afternoon. We learned a lot from the guides and there were only 4 of us on this trip, so it was very personal. We found it through Alaska Shore Excursions: Skagway.

We saw whales while kayaking out of Ketchikan with Southeast Kayak Company. Maybe it was the same one, but one appeared nearby our kayaks and then soon after we saw its tail quite close by! We weren't in the open water, but closer in to shore in a bay. It was very cool and very unexpected.

In Dawson City, Yukon (if that's what you mean by Dawson), you won't do any better than at Klondike Kate's. Absolutely the best food in town! In Whitehorse, Klondike Rib and Salmon is awesome. It's very small, so that might mean a wait, unless you eat at times that aren't popular. We ate at both of these establishments during our tour of the Yukon and I wish I could go back and dine there again!

We have had good luck at the hotel Residenzia de Farnese very near Campo di fiori, and love the small family run restaurant nearby Hostaria de Farnese. Followed of course by a walk in Campo di Fiori and Piazza Navona, For some gelato. Is is a delightful area to explore, easy to reach Trastevere.

We stayed here too in 2016! Nice hotel, quite comfortable, with a lovely rooftop patio. It was only a very short hop across the bridge to Trastevere, so we ate there every night. It also had a lovely breakfast served buffet style on lovely china.